Digiworld Adventure Season One
by Arthoxx
Summary: Season One of my "Digiworld Adventure" series. If anyone wants to see more of it, I'll need some feedback before I start putting up Season Two. Enjoy reading!
1. Chapter 1

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part One**

There are many things in this world that are strange. Most of which are unexplainable, hence their being called strange. Most of these things just go by unnoticed by human beings, the race I am sad to say to be a part of, mainly because even if they _did_ manage to see it, they would make it become a false reality to them, as if they didn't want to see it.

For the longest time I had been told that what I see, what I hear, that is out of the ordinary, things that science and or religion can't explain are just in my imagination. My 'wild' imagination, as the adults around me call it, has seen and heard many things that 'aren't there.' There are far too many of these to even attempt to tell, but there is one story of my life that I found to be the most shattering part of my entire world.

My name is Ian; I'm fifteen and I live in Chilliwack BC, Canada. I have an older brother who's twenty-one, and a twin brother who I despise with every fibre of my body. I live with my twin and my parents in a large house on one acre of land. It is here that I have passed the past ten years hating them, waiting for my chance to escape, to break free of this hate filled life.

The story started at the beginning of my second semester at Sardis Senior High School. It was a crisp Canadian winter day; no snow, but frost, wind chill, and frozen ground. I was sitting on the bus home like I do every day, trying to keep my eye contact away from one particular girl a couple seats ahead of me when I heard the strangest thing.

It was a piercing shriek of a bird unlike any I had ever heard before. It was a monstrous sounding bird, like the size of the bus for just its body, and that's not including the wingspan. I jumped from my seat looking around wildly for the source of the sound. It sounded like it was just overtop the bus, but when I looked, there was nothing there.

The other people on the bus were staring at me like I was a madman, and although I was used to receiving this kind of attention, I was mostly bothered because no one else seemed to have heard it.

I ignored them, like I usually do, and tried once again to find the source of the sound. Seeing nothing, and hearing no more screeches, I dropped the idea and tried to resume my regular posture of pretending like I wasn't there.

Normally, now, I get off at the opposite side of one street; I get home at the same time, but I get seven minutes less of walking. Today, though, I really needed to clear my head. There was something very strange about that sound I had heard earlier on the bus ride. I knew it had been real, but I couldn't explain why no one else had heard it. I stepped off the bus, looked around, then crossed the street, heading towards a side alley that broke off from one main road and led to another. There were very few people that were ever there, so I was free to talk to myself and not be bothered.

It was a bit chilly, walking down the gravel lane, but I refused to be bothered by it and only pulled my signature brown jacket closer to my body. "I know what I heard," I said aloud, ignoring a small white dog barking at my side, his slightly larger brown companion merely looking at me. "Although, if I say anything…" I remembered the time a few nights ago where I had exploded at my parents for calling me paranoid. There had been times when I thought that they were seriously considering having me sent to an institute of some sort, but I didn't want to let them calling me 'paranoid' become real. "I'm not paranoid, because it was real," I stated aloud, convincing myself of what I had heard.

Suddenly, something pulled at my pant leg, causing me to stumble several feet to the left and into someone's backyard. I had just enough time to look around and see that there was a person on a scooter whizzing at full speed where I had been walking only seconds before. I might've heard it coming any other time, but I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I had completely missed it.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, realising how bad that could've turned out. I looked down to see what had pulled at my leg, but there was nothing there. No animals, no branches, plants or anything remotely similar to such that could've snagged my pants and pulled me over.

I stood there, dumbstruck. "There's something strange going on," I said, "something indeed very strange."

From there, I trudged on back home, making sure that every couple of seconds I would look back for oncoming traffic, and looking down to make sure that there was nothing to make me trip or stumble.

The rest of the day was spent like it normally was: me trying to avoid confrontation and conversation with the adult figures of the house, while at the same time trying to become invisible to my evil twin counterpart. I noticed that he smelled especially strong of marijuana and liquor today. Plus whatever else he might smoke at that druggy school down the street.

Oh yeah, I forgot to say: I go to the high school across town for French Immersion because the high school whose area I'm in (or rather down the street from) doesn't support the program due to a lack of teachers. That seemed to be my only reprieve from my brother and his hell-bound friends.

That night, I lay in bed, pondering the day's memories. I had heard things before and I was almost used to it, but never before had I felt anything that seemed out of the ordinary. There was no one that I could talk to about it, because I think that if I told my friends about it, they would probably start to act the way they did before when all my strange obsessions and feelings started to take over me. I had worked hard at building a proper social standing in high school, especially since I didn't have that rotten counterpart spreading rumours and making friends that would go out of their way to make me feel worse than I had when I was at the same middle school as him.

I decided that I would dismiss the thoughts; I wouldn't forget them, but I would put them aside until they became useful again. With that, I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, familiar images dancing before them in no time whatsoever.

The next day of school came and went like it usually did, no screw ups, nothing out of the ordinary, and there was even an almost bright side to the end of the day. I would be going into Vancouver that day, directly after school for a fitting for my new dance jacket. The downside, however: I would be going with the mother figure.

I waited with my friends for a while, waiting for her to get there while they waited for their respective buses. When I saw her silver station wagon pull into the lot, I hugged my friends, said goodbye and dashed to the vehicle, avoiding buses as I went.

"Hi, Ian," she exclaimed as I flomped into my seat, "how was your day?"

"My day was fine," I answered. I had discovered after many, many months of having the same question asked to me that replying with a decent, yet indisputable answer such as 'fine,' there were rarely any more questions about it.

I must make a note to someday go and find whoever made radio, because it really saved me from the pitiful small talk during a one and a bit hour car ride. I didn't even have to pay attention to whatever the hell they were talking about, just look out the window and pretend to be thinking about something serious in the eyes of a parent figure. Like math, or English class or something.

As usual, there was a lull in traffic at the Port Mann Bridge, and I groaned as the cars around us slowed down to a steady 20kph.

A loud, earth-shattering roar broke the calm, and not only did I jump a foot in the air, but I could feel the rumbling in my feet, and it wasn't the movement of the car. The mother figure looked directly at me, a strange look on her face. A flicker of movement caught my eyes, and when I looked out the window, an amazing spectacle appeared before me.

There was a giant sea serpent in the water, and a monstrous red bird flying down at it. Since the mother figure obviously couldn't see it, I thought of a quick lie.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I exclaimed, flinging the door open and rolling off the seat, my backpack on my shoulder.

"Ian!" she screamed, "what the hell are you doing?"

The door slammed shut as traffic urged her forwards in a siege of movement.

The bird screeched loudly, and I immediately recognised it as the one from the day before. I watched in amazement and horror as the red bird scraped its talons on the serpent's scaly side. Before I could let myself get frozen up, I turned in the opposite direction of traffic and darted down the sidewalk.

Each roar and every piercing cry only drove me faster, and I cursed as my school supplies came tumbling out the main pocket of my backpack. In under a minute, I made it to the first side of the bridge, and I leapt over the railing and dropped ten feet onto a grassy hill. There was a pathway under the bridge, and I ran down it towards the water. It had to be real, because even the logs at the far side of the river were quaking from the wake that was building up.

I made it down to the water's edge after slipping between a few small buildings, kicked off my shoes, and then waded in until it reached my knees. There was nothing I could do but watch, now, as the two colossal beasts duked it out.

Now I let the tension get to me. My whole body seemed to freeze up in shock as the reality of what was happening started to sink in. The fight didn't seem to have a winner or a loser, but rather just a fight consisting of equal opponents.

Then, the serpent bit into the bird's leg and pulled it down into the water, blood squirting out and even more waves being made from the thrashing. One particularly big one made its way to me and soaked my up to my lower chest and drenched the bottom of my backpack. The bird beat its wings furiously, trying to get out of the water, then it got the idea to peck the serpent's face. This worked extremely well, but when the serpent let go, the bird lost control of its flight pattern and came soaring over towards the bridge above me.

My legs didn't seem to want to work, now, at the most crucial time. There was a loud crash and the bird soared right into the bridge. I looked up and saw a giant piece of concrete unhinge itself from the rest of the bridge and start its way down towards me.

A scream emitted from my mouth, and then I was suddenly tackled by a red blur. I splashed into the water, struggling to get up, but whatever had hit me was holding me out of the way. Then came the crash of the rock hitting the river. I heard it shatter and felt the water that surrounded me recede. I knew that that meant it was going to make a wave, so I grabbed onto the thing that was holding me down and started screaming again. The wave hit and I was pitched backwards, the red thing releasing the grip on me as it too was hurled backwards.

The ground below me seemed to have dropped several metres, and my feet couldn't seem to find anything to stand on. I coughed up water and squeezed my eyes closed to avoid getting anything in them. Whatever had tackled me was obviously trying to swim, but I was holing onto a part of it. I shook my head, opened my eyes, and found myself clinging onto the arm of a giant red lizard. It had a white belly and strange black marking in its head, arms, shoulders and chest, and I assumed that there would be more on its legs.

"What the hell?" I cried, kicking my legs and praising myself for taking off my shoes before going into the water.

"No time!" it said in a voice that seemed very childish. Obviously a boy.

I let go of his arm and followed it as it swam to shore. The giant bird seemed to have made its way back into the sky, but the serpent was still looking around for it, roaring with a deafening intensity. Trying my best to ignore it, I soon found ground beneath my feet and pulled myself out of the water.

Slightly ahead of me, the lizard pulled himself out of the water then looked behind at me, his amber eyes flashing in fear. He opened his mouth and shouted, "pyro sphere!" There was a burst of light and a ball of red energy came sailing by my side. It exploded in the water directly behind me and there was another ground rumbling roar, but this time it felt like it was much closer than ever before. I whipped around, water flying in my face and I saw the serpent's tail start to recoil, for it seemed to have been right where the red lizard had attacked.

He started running forwards, now completely out of the water, and I slowly followed suit. I realised that he had just saved my life twice in a minute. My legs spurred into action and I bolted after him, my soaked clothes and backpack making me lag behind. "Wait!" I called, as he started to disappear into the small buildings that surrounded the river. My foot ran over a piece of glass and it cut directly into my heel. I stumbled forwards, but kept running.

He whipped around a small grey building, and when I slid to a halt at the end of the alley, he was gone. I paced quietly down the alley, looking from side to side. "Where are you?" I called out. Without any reason that I could see, a surge of fear bolted through me. I darted down the alley, looking around like crazy and only stopping whenever I tripped or stumbled over something.

I heard the serpent's cry from far away, and then the giant bird who seemed to be almost overhead. Probably making a fly around to attack again. Then there was a gust of wind and I was pitched forwards onto my knees, bruising them. I rolled onto my back and saw the giant bird fly directly overtop of me; and then, as if it had spotted me, it landed on top of the building beside me emitting a loud crunching sound from it.

With whatever effort I could muster, I started to stand up. The bird let out a deafening screech and started to bend down towards me. I didn't scream now, but I only watched in horror as its beak started to open up.

Then, my breath shot out of my chest as the red lizard came hurling out at me, knocking me to the side along with himself. The bird screeched and pecked at the ground leaving a deep dent in the pavement. "We need to get out of here!" he shouted, his voice still oddly childish. He quickly stood up beside me and I found that he was about the same height as me, possibly a bit taller. "Come on!" he said, turning down the alley in the opposite direction.

The bird shrieked indignantly, obviously frustrated that it had missed us. I didn't even take a second to look back before I started following the lizard back down the alley. Once we were in the street, he turned in the direction of the bridge, and although I knew that that was the way back to the mother figure, I didn't seem to have much choice in the matter. I bolted down as fast as I could, not letting him get out of my sight this time. "Where do we go?" I called ahead. "There can't be many places that a giant bird monster like that can't get at!"

"Birdramon!" he called back, "its name is Birdramon! We should hide under the bridge!"

I didn't even have time to argue before I felt a gust of wind throw me several feet forwards; I only just landed on my feet, had it been any stronger or weaker, I definitely would've fallen. "Well what's your name?" I was nearly out of breath, but it was strange just thinking of this… creature as a nameless thing.

He looked around at me, and despite the peril that was following close behind us, he smiled. "I'm Guilmon," he said happily, as if he had been meaning to say it for quite some time. I was about to introduce myself, but he continued. "And you're Ian-mon," he said with a big grin.

I didn't have time under the circumstances to be confused as to why he knew my name, but it didn't fade from my mind. The traffic from the Port Mann Bridge seemed to have come to a complete halt, which wasn't surprising considering the big piece of the bridge that was missing. I was afraid that someone might try to come and get me, but fortunately there didn't seem to be any such attempts. We finally made it underneath the bridge, but he didn't stop there. He ran up the hill, the bridge above us closing in quite quickly, but he didn't stop until we had reached the crevasse just between the ground and the bridge. He had just finished lying into the gap as I got there, and I could hear the enraged screams of fury coming from Birdramon. I crawled down beside him and kept quiet, watching as the giant bird monster soared around atop the bridge, while the serpent was still thrashing in the water.

The serpent let out another roar, catching Birdramon's attention and starting the clash of titans that had originally attracted my attention.

It was only then, when I seemed to be out of danger, that I felt the throbbing pain from my foot. I dropped my hand towards it, wincing in pain as it ran over the open wound. I wasn't worried about infection, just that I might make it worse without having shoes on. Whatever the case, it wasn't my biggest problem at the time. I looked over to my side and saw Guilmon's amber eyes watching the battle with rapt attention.

"How did you know who I was?" I asked quietly.

He seemed to jump, as if he had forgotten I was there. Then he shook his head and the childish look came back to his face. "There are many who know your name, Ian-mon," he said, "we've been trying for so long to get to you. And now I have!"

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused, "what would people want with me? And what people?"

"There is a…" he stumbled over his words. "A… mm…" He looked down at the ground, trying to remember the right word. "You must come," he said finally, "and we can show you."

"Who?" I asked again, "who wants to see me?"

"The digimon!" he exclaimed, "all of us!"

Much time had passed while we waited for the two monsters to pass. It had mostly been spent in silence as we watched them constantly hurl themselves at each other. I was getting a little worried that someone would come and find us, but maybe the two monsters were keeping people away. I didn't know, because we still hadn't left the spot when darkness started to fall. The only real movement that I had made was when I pulled off my backpack and laid my jacket out overtop of it to dry.

Finally, the inevitable came: my stomach started to growl in hunger. "Guilmon," I whispered, "can we move out of here?"

"We must wait," he replied quickly, his eyes never leaving the battle that still raged on. "Otherwise we'll never make it back."

I didn't have to ask to know that he was talking of whatever world he had come from. "How long will we have to wait?" I asked, trying not to seem impatient, after all, he had saved my life three times in one day.

"Not much longer," he said, "we must just wait for the portal to open."

The darkness was lit up, and not for the first time, with fireballs raining from the sky where the bird had just been. Apparently it was another attack that it could use, whereas the Seadramon (which happened to be the name of the serpent) used a blast of white light or something that froze whatever it had hit.

Another hour passed and I saw the moon start to appear from behind a cloud.

Guilmon seemed to stop moving entirely at the sight of it. His eyes shrunk down, and then he started quivering. "It's coming," he said, as if it was a warning.

I took the incentive and wrapped my jacket around my waist and slid my backpack on.

I gazed out over the battle scene to see that it had changed. Where the moon hit the water, there seemed to be a light glowing back out at it, though it was much bigger and brighter. Seadramon seemed to be sinking into it, and even Birdramon was having difficulties keeping away from it.

Suddenly, Guilmon stood up, making me stand up beside him. "It's coming!" he said again, his body now completely shaking. A beeping sound started to emit from my backpack, and when I pulled it off, there was a light shining through the smallest front pocket.

As I opened the zipper, Birdramon hit the water in a last attempt to attack its enemy and started to sink in itself. The light from my backpack was almost blinding, and when I put my hand inside, I pulled out a strange device that I had never seen before. It was grey; it had three buttons on it and a screen that was the source of all the light.

Then Guilmon seemed to glow with the same light as from the device and he roared in pain. "Guilmon!" I cried, my hand reaching for his shoulder.

There was an explosion of light, much brighter than any firework, another roar of pain, and the crunching sound of concrete. When the light subsided, there was in place of Guilmon, a giant version of him with new markings on him. He was probably twenty feet tall and had a long white mane of hair. My jaw dropped in awe and fear and my backpack fell to my feet. I shoved the device in my pocket and jumped onto the new Guilmon's leg as he started to move into towards the water.

"Guilmon!" I cried again. I quickly scaled up his leg and made it onto his back, which was much easier than it should've been.

"Hold on!" he called back, his voice still the same as it had been before. He crouched down and leapt into the air. I shouted in fear as the ground plummeted beneath me and I felt my stomach churn.

The wind rushed up at me as we flew down towards the water and I felt myself start to throw up. I looked up at the sky to see the moon and the stars shining down on us, while the lights of Vancouver seemed to be going haywire. There was mass flickering, but I barely had time to notice it before I felt water rush up to me. Then I just let it go, and as I became completely submerged in the water, I threw up.

But that was the last thing I knew before I whited out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Two**

My eyes cracked open to the feeling of blazing sun. When I opened them, all I could see was white light. If it wasn't bad enough that my entire body hurt, now my head was going to hurt from confusion. _"There isn't any sunshine forecasted for days… and besides, this is the Fraser Valley, it shouldn't be warm here."_

I heard whispering above my head, and as my eyes started to focus, I found myself surrounded by more little monsters, or as Guilmon had called them, digimon. They were small, about the size of a soccer ball, grey and had long fluffy ears.

I groaned in pain, trying to make sense of where I was and what was happening. That's when all the little digimon sprung into life.

"You're awake!" they cried, "you're awake! You're awake! You're awake!" They started bouncing around me in a circle, speeding up when I managed to crawl into a sitting position. One of them stopped in front of me and said, "are you what they call a human?" it asked.

I rubbed my head, pushing the hair out of my face, and looked around. "Yeah," I said, my voice rather gravely. "And what're you called?"

"We're Pagumon!" he replied, a wide grin spreading across his face. He then joined back with the rest of the Pagumon in the circle around me. Their chant continued, drilling into my aching head.

I stood up, swaying precariously on my wobbly legs. I was surprised that my clothes were dry, especially since I had just fallen into the Fraser River on a giant digimon's back. Then I realised that Guilmon was no longer with me. I whipped my head around, which turned out to be a bad idea, as I became very dizzy, very quickly. We were in a small village, well, rather a miniature village made for the Pagumon, I assumed. There was a giant mountain range a few kilometres off, and to the other direction was a dense forest. _Well, that's it. I must've ended up in whatever world those other digimon came from._

"Have any of you seen Guilmon around here?" I asked, holding my head until everything stopped moving around. "He's a tall, red lizard with black markings and a white stomach."

The Pagumon didn't have to think for even a second before saying, "nope! We have never seen a digimon with that description!" They continued bouncing around without a care in the world.

It was then that I remembered how hungry I was, and that I hadn't had any meals since lunch, which I assumed was the previous day. "Is there anything to eat around here?" I asked quickly, a rumble dashing through my stomach. "I haven't eaten in ages."

"We have lots to eat!" they replied in unison. It was rather creepy listening to them all talk at the same time. Then they started bouncing towards the nearest house, which must've been half my size. One jumped into the house, then after a few seconds came bouncing out with a basket of fruit which it held up using its ears.

I suppose that if I wasn't so hungry that I might've been curious to know how they could hold things with their ears. "Thanks!" I said, grabbing an apple off the top and sinking my teeth into it.

Within a few minutes, I had devoured two of these apples before I found myself satiated. "Thank-you very much for the food," I said, "but I really do think I should go and find Guilmon."

"Go?" they all asked. "No! You must stay here at the Pagumon Village!"

For a second, I almost considered it, then I realised how creepy this was. "I'm sorry, no," I said, shaking my head kindly. "I really can't stay."

"But you must stay!" they said, "you cannot leave the Pagumon Village!"

By now my weird sensors were going off like crazy. I knew that I had to get out of there before something even stranger started happening. I decided to turn and run, but I hadn't even taken three steps before one of them came hurtling into the back of my legs, pitching me forwards to the ground. "What the-" I started.

Another one rammed into my side, and I felt teeth dig into me. This wrenched a loud yelp of pain from my mouth, but before I knew it, I was being pummelled by twenty or more of them. All of them were hitting and biting, hitting and biting. Many of these bites I could tell were drawing blood, and I didn't hesitate to start screaming. _Is this how I'm going to die? Being attacked by a bunch of dust bunnies?_

"Blue Blaster!"

I felt a jet of coldness whiz by my head, and when I looked up, I saw another digimon running at me. It was about three feet tall, stood like a human, was yellow and had a blue fur draped over its body. It also had a horn protruding from its forehead, but that's all I saw before I had to duck from another one of its attacks.

After three attacks, I was able to stand up and run towards the new digimon. "Come on!" it said, making sure that I was ahead of it, "get moving! I can't hold them off for long!"

I nodded and kept running, noticing that my white shirt was already stained in many places with blood. The same went for my beige pants.

We ran to the forest, only stopping when I couldn't hear their voices anymore. Then, I slumped down against a tree and slid down to the ground to examine my wounds. I looked up, though, at the digimon who had just saved me. "Thank-you very much," I said, out of breath.

Only then did the digimon look at me. "No problem!" he replied with a smile. His big green eyes were very friendly. "Someone always has to keep watch on that village to make sure that they're not up to something."

As I ran my hands over my waist, I felt something in my pocket. I reached into it and pulled out the strange device that I had been holding right when I fell into the river. There was a faint red dot at the edge of the screen, but that was it. I shook my head, realising that the digimon was still looking at me. "I'm sorry," I said, looking back up to him. "My name's Ian." I extended a hand to him, hoping he knew the gesture.

He took my hand in his, shaking it and answered, "my name's Gabumon. You must be one of those human creatures that I've heard about."

I raised an eyebrow, but nodded in affirmation. "I am," I said with confusion, deciding to drop the idea. "By any chance have you seen a digimon called Guilmon come by recently? Or maybe it wasn't recent… I can't tell."

Gabumon looked up in thought, then looked down at me. "I know who you're talking about, but I haven't seen him in days. Not since that Seadramon and Birdramon were fighting back at the lake. I high-tailed it out of there, but he wanted to stay for some reason."

"Hmm…" I looked down at the strange little device. The red dot hadn't moved. "Well, to be perfectly honest with you," I said, "I have no idea what to do now. Following Guilmon was the only thing I could do when I was back in my world, but I don't know what to do now."

"You could always stay with me until we find him," Gabumon suggested. "Besides, it's getting late and even though I may be a digimon, I'm sure that humans need their sleep too."

"Sure," I said, standing up. _Are all digimon like this? Evil or kind? It's not like I have any other choice, though._ I glanced at the cuts that still bled into my shirt. "Is there a river nearby? Or a lake?"

"There is a stream a few minutes away," Gabumon answered, "it's very deep in the middle, but the edges are fine for wading."

"Great," I said. From there, he showed me the way through the trees. None of them were like anything that I had ever seen, and I had seen a lot of trees. The mother figure was a forester, and when I had to go on guided walks with her, I did learn a few things about trees and plants. Actually, none of the vegetation around even resembled anything that I had ever seen before. Where the Pagumon had found apples was beyond me, but I wasn't in any position to be questioning my whereabouts.

We walked for several minutes, but not once did I see something recognisable. Everything looked like something someone had drawn right out of their imagination. It was all very strange, and I felt like I was living in a dream.

_I wonder if anyone knows that I'm gone yet? After that big deal with the Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver, I don't know what people are going to think… Did anyone else end up being able to see the digimon? Or am I still the only one? This is very strange; I wish someone could explain things to me about this predicament. _Suddenly, we weren't in the forest anymore, but instead at the edge of a river. It was about fifteen feet across and moving quite swiftly, but it was still clean water. I slipped off my shirt and pants, then plunged into the water.

"Hey!" Gabumon exclaimed, "be careful! It's very fast in the middle of the river!"

I lifted my head out of the water and swam back to the edge. "Don't worry," I said, trying to quell his fear. "I've been swimming since I was your size."

He snorted, not finding the joke as amusing as I did. "Just don't get caught in the current. I don't want to have to go in after you; fur doesn't smell very nice when it's wet." He plucked at the blue fur around his body.

I nodded, then grabbed my shirt and started to wash the blood out of it. My foot was stinging from the cold water; apparently I didn't notice it hurting when I was being battered by the Pagumon. When my shirt was as clean as it was going to get, I tossed it off to the side in the grass and examined the bottom of my foot. Fortunately it didn't seem to be infected, which was good for me because I was pretty sure that there wouldn't be much antiseptic in this world. It was even healing: a very good sign.

After I was done with that, I checked out the rest of the cuts on me. I counted about twenty of them, along with several bruises on my arms, legs and chest. Silent curses flew from my mouth, but it was probably my own fault for following Guilmon in the first place.

Then, I jumped out of the water, shook off as much of it as I could, and pulled on my pants. I carried my shirt over my shoulder, because there was very little that I had found that was more uncomfortable than wearing wet clothes.

"Gabumon," I said, my hand finding its way back to the device in my pocket, "do you know what this is?" I showed him the device.

He looked at it carefully, but didn't seem to recognise it. "I don't know, Ian," he replied, shaking his head. "I've never seen anything like it before. Mind you, I've never seen a human before today, either. Shall we return?"

Sighing, I nodded and returned the device into my pocket. _I'll look at it later. _We then started walking back into the forest, my foot recoiling from the feeling of a prickly plant or thick brush.

The walk didn't seem to take as long, this time, and the area surrounding us got very beautiful with the setting sun. The sky turned an explosive gold and orange and the plants seemed to soak up the colour with it. It was all too weird, though, for me to try and get relaxed easily. I didn't really have much of an urge to return to my own world, so it wasn't a top priority like it might've been for other people in my position.

Mind you, there weren't many other people in my position.

"Gabumon," I said after several minutes, "why did the Pagumon attack me? Are they just unkind like that?"

Gabumon sighed, his face falling. "There are good digimon, and there are bad digimon. Why they are like that? No one really knows, but if you keep with the good guys, they can't normally get you down. Like Guilmon; he's a good digimon to stick around with."

With a new smile on my face, I looked out to the horizon above the treetops. Even the mountain ranges were very different from Chilliwack, but I was starting to not care about it. "Where exactly is this place?" I asked. "Not just the forest, but what is this world that we're in?" _Could it be that easy to find out?_

"That's easy," Gabumon said, "we're in the Digiworld!"

Another smile ran across my face. That sounded good enough for me.

Gabumon's cave, however small, was very comfortable. It was right in the side of a hill, covered by dense trees and long grass, and had walls of sold rock. It was about eleven feet long and six feet tall, although the entrance was only about three feet high. Overall, though, it was very nice for anyone. Gabumon had brought a few more fruit, and to my mind's relief, I didn't recognise them. One was very similar to a mango, but that was as close as it came.

"Don't worry," Gabumon had said, "we'll look for him in the morning. For now, though, you can assure your safety in this cave. There are very few who know about its existence."

Somehow, not matter how reassuring that should've been, I still didn't feel very safe in this world. Sure, it was great, I mean, I had already been greeted so nicely by the natives. Even if that did mean having the crap beaten out of me by monsters the size of soccer balls. And then this digimon: he saved from the little monsters, fed me, and gave me a safe place to sleep. It was quite a change from my first few impressions on digimon. _"One thing that puzzles me though, is where did that strange device come from? What is it? And why did it react to Guilmon? Man… It's not like I've got an urge to find my way home, 'cause this has already proved better than home, but I just want to know what the heck is up with this place. It's all very strange." _With that, I flomped down onto the ground and lay down to sleep.

It didn't take very long for the sun to completely set, at which point the cave was filled with darkness. That, of course, meant that the cold would set in too. Now, the temperature that's being defined as cold isn't necessarily 'cold,' but rather just such a difference from the heat that I had been introduced to in the daytime that it felt quite cold. In reality, had I just been in my own world, I would've found the night time weather to be quite warm.

In any case, I let out a shiver, trying my best to silence it. The cold nipped at the cut on my foot, making me curl myself in to the foetal position. Even if Gabumon had seemed so friendly, I thought that I might've been mistaking it for that in comparison to the Pagumon. _"I don't know,"_ I thought, _"maybe my sense of perception has been skewed because of today."_ It's not like I felt unsafe, I just didn't want to be a helpless human child in a world full of monsters.

"Are you all right?" I heard Gabumon ask.

"I'm fine," I replied through a clamped jaw, stifling another shiver. I crossed my arms around the backs of my legs, pulling them close to my chest. _"It's going to be a cold night…"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Three**

That night was filled with the scariest and most contorted dreams I had ever had. Darkness seemed to be the only thing that remained constant, and I believe that that's what had scared me the most. Whether the night terrors were filling me with pain, agony or unbearable sadness, the darkness was always there. There were times when I thought that I had awoken, and I found myself screaming and sweating until my clothes were literally drenched. The cave would no longer be a safe haven, but a place with a darkness so evil that it seemed to swallow up the darkness of the night. Then, as a trick form of relief, I would wake up in another dream with a new emotion to attack.

Finally, I opened my eyes once more, and I felt something warm against me. Before I could register my thoughts properly, tears started rolling from my eyes again. I knew that it was no longer a dream, but it seemed to be just letting out all the pent up emotions that had been flying through me that night.

I only let myself cry for a minute before I brushed my sleeve against my eyes and tried to figure out where I was.

Light was just creeping into the cave, and I found that Gabumon was lying against me… making sure that I didn't freeze in the night. I cursed myself for not trusting him as much I as should've the night before, but it was too late now.

I froze when I heard him move a bit, then pretended to still be asleep as he stood up, shaking off the sleep and creases in his fur. There was a moment of silence and I could feel his eyes resting on me. Then he sighed and I listened carefully as his footsteps slowly left the cave. Only after thirty seconds after he left the cave did I dare move.

Once again, I cursed myself for being anything less than completely trustworthy of him. _"Maybe I'm just being cautious," _I thought, _"then maybe I won't be such a bad person."_ That satisfied me enough: reasoning with my own emotions.

I sat up, looking at the entrance to the cave. It was still cold in the cave, but it was getting warmer every minute as it got gradually lighter outside. Still, I had to rub warmth into my arms and get my circulation going faster.

Suddenly, images from the previous night flashed through my mind, stunning me where I sat. A cold chill ran down my spine as the same emotions began running through me once more, and I could only wait for them to pass.

It wasn't until long after the images had disappeared until I could move freely again. The feeling was hideous… I felt like a child, frozen in fear from something that wasn't real. It made me want to hate myself for being such a dependent. With a quick shake of my head, I stood up, my legs more wobbly than I would've liked.

Then, I decided that I should probably go outside and get some fresh air to clear my head. I crawled out the entrance and sat down on the small, grassy hill. It was another beautiful day, and the sun was doing its best to get as high as it could for the time of day. There was a slight breeze, and it was as good for me as I thought it would be. I pushed my hair out of my face, closing my eyes as the sun hit them.

I lay down on the hill, the grass proving to be a very comfortable pillow. Without realising it, I slipped into a quick nap, resting underneath the sunbeams that leaked through the canopy above, and before I knew it, I was being nudged awake by Gabumon.

"Wake up!" he said as gently as possible, "you can't just fall asleep out in the open like that! There are bad digimon out there that would seize the chance for an easy meal."

My eyes widened in shock at that statement. "Good morning to you too," I said, grinning. "Thanks a load for last night…" I seemed hesitant to say it, so I was glad that it had jumped out so quickly.

Gabumon smiled, but it didn't last long. "You were acting very strangely last night," he started, a worried tone entering his voice. "You were tossing and turning, and you said many things. Most of them I didn't understand, but they were interrupted often by screaming or…"

"…Or crying," I finished. "I was having horrible night terrors. Just the thought of them…" I shuddered, not letting my mind wander that way again.

"It's all right," he reassured me, patting me on the back. He sat down beside me and showed me that he had brought breakfast. Not much different than dinner the night before, but I was still extremely grateful.

Once done eating, I remembered what was supposed to be coming. I looked at him, his eyes off in a different direction. _"Does he remember? I don't want to be even close to sounding like a nag after all he's done for me. I'll keep quiet."_

The silence lasted for an uncomfortable minute before he said it. "I guess we'd better go and look for your friend Guilmon, now."

My heart leapt, although now that I think of it, I don't think that it should've. After all, I had known him for about half the time that I had known Gabumon. Either way, I felt more attached to him, as he had been the first digimon that I had come in contact with.

Once again, I pulled out the device in my pocket. I don't know why I thought it would be helpful, but the way it had appeared in the first place made me think that it might be useful. I looked at the screen to see that the little red dot was still on it, although now it was in a different corner of the screen. Gabumon seemed to have noticed that I was preoccupied with it and he waited patiently.

I swivelled around, to test a theory and found that the dot moved around like a compass, moving to the opposite side of the screen as if it was trying to direct me towards it. I turned around until the dot was directly ahead of me, then looked down to Gabumon. "I think I know what direction to go," I said. "I'm not sure, but it's the best idea I've got."

"Then we might as well try it," he said in agreement. "Which way do we go?"

I looked at the device once again. "Let's go forwards," I said, hoping that I was reading the device properly. I looked up ahead of us and saw a tall mountain range far off in the direction I had specified. "Is there anything in those mountains over there?" I asked, pointing ahead of us.

Gabumon looked out at the mountains. "I've never been out there," he said, "but I've heard strange stories of things in the mountains that survive in the darkness. I do know that people have said that there are thousands of tunnels that spread out under them, but I don't know anything about the land, so I can't say much else."

I raised an eyebrow. "That sounds pleasant," I said sarcastically. "Well, I guess we'd better head out, then."

At that, we headed down the hill we were on and started forwards through the forest once again. We stopped at the river to get a quick drink, but other than that we continued walking.

When an hour had passed I looked at the device again. The red dot wasn't any closer, but it had got brighter. That seemed like a good thing to me, but I really still had no idea what the dot was supposed to represent. It was only a guess that it would be Guilmon.

While we walked, I tried to spark some conversations. For the most part Gabumon told me about the Digiworld, talking about the history of it and some of the other digimon that lived in it.

Apparently this wasn't the first time that humans had come into the Digiworld, but it had been many, many years since the last ones did. Gabumon said that they were called the Digidestined, and that they had been brought to this world to save them from great evil every time.

"_Am I supposed to do that?" _I asked myself, _"is that why I've been sent to this world? It's an entire world… what could one child do?"_

The children, apparently, had all had digimon partners, and had had their help in defeating the great evil that had corrupted the Digiworld at each of their times. However, as far as anyone knew now, there wasn't any evil to be defeated.

"Well that's just great," I thought, "I've been sent to this world so I can just hang around." I snorted in indignity. "That makes perfect sense," I said under my breath. 

A few more hours of walking later, the red dot had finally started to move closer. Unfortunately, the mountains were also much closer and I feared that we would have to enter them. I just hoped that I was represented in the middle and not the bottom of the screen. If that were the case we would only have to make it to just about the bottom of the mountain instead of actually having to climb it.

Now that the mountains were so much closer, it started to get colder. The sun had risen behind them, and although the sun was considerably high, the mountains were still tall enough to cast a shadow over the land we walked on.

I shivered a bit and found myself walking directly beside Gabumon, rather than somewhere being slightly ahead or behind. "It's quite cold isn't it?" he asked rhetorically, his teeth starting to chatter a bit.

"It sure is," I replied, wishing that I had something more than a white dress shirt and a single pair of pants to wear. My feet had become numb, which I suppose was good for the cut, but it certainly didn't feel that nice. The cuts that covered my upper body stung a bit, but I didn't let them bother me. Them and the bruises together made me feel overall quite uncomfortable.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, we reached the base of the mountain. When I looked up, I could barely see the top, and I seemed to shrink back in fear from it. Where I lived the mountains were famous for being some of the tallest there were, but these would've made them seem like mice in comparison.

It was there that we decided to take a rest and wait for our feet to be entirely ready for the next voyage. Fortunately, while we were resting, the sun made it to the top of the mountains and started to shine weakly on us. We both looked up to find the sun blaring into out eyes.

I also checked my foot once more, making sure that it wasn't infected and hadn't opened up again. I figured that that was about one of the worst things that could happen: getting an infection with no way of properly cleaning it.

At any rate, we had become rested once more, and I was just going to make one last check of the device to make sure that the dot hadn't moved. But, just as I was putting my hand in my pocket to get it out, a large explosion rocked the ground and I was thrown to my feet. Gabumon managed to stay standing, but he was quite shaken up. I scrambled back up to my feet and we both searched for the source of the sound.

"There!" Gabumon shouted, pointing to the middle of the mountain.

I looked up and saw that there was a cloud of dust and a large crack on the mountain, closer to the top than the bottom. "What is it?" I asked, squinting to try and see through the dust and sunlight. I knew that Gabumon wouldn't know, but just like any human, I still had to ask aloud.

We waited as the dust settled, and then there was another explosion. A blast of light came crashing through the crack in the mountainside, turning it into a large, gaping hole. We both managed to stay standing this time, but then Gabumon pointed upwards. "Look!" he shouted, "there's something falling from the mountain!"

I tried to find where he was pointing, and then I gasped. It looked like Guilmon, falling from the hole that had just been blasted into the mountain. "We have to help him!" I cried, "it's Guilmon!"

The limp body of Guilmon crashed into the side of the mountain and started rolling down. I threw myself upwards, not letting my eyes leave the digimon's red figure. I heard Gabumon struggling to keep up behind me, but since my legs were nearly three times longer than his, it was inevitable that I would move faster than him.

It took only a few minutes to find him, and I had to throw my arms out to stop him from rolling. He had been thrown down more than half the mountain, making it much less distance for me to run.

"Guilmon!" I cried, rolling him onto his back. I immediately checked for a pulse, my first-aid skills coming back to me in a flash. I found it on his jugular, but it was very weak from what I could remember.

His eyes creaked open and I could see a slit of amber through them. "Run," he whispered. It was evident that he didn't have much strength left, and it was only then that I realised how many cuts and bruises he had covering his body. I was about to try and ask him something more, but he passed out.

Gabumon appeared beside me, but there didn't seem to be anything we could do. I started to look around when another explosion rocked the mountainside. I heard trees falling nearby and I decided that it would be best to take Guilmon's advice. "We need to get out of here," Gabumon said quickly, "whatever attacked Guilmon is coming!"

I nodded frantically, worried a great deal about all the cuts that covered the poor digimon's body. A compulsion to try and heal them was almost stronger than the will to get us into safety.

With that last thought, I hoisted Guilmon over my shoulder, then moved him over until he was aligned properly on my back with his arms over each shoulder. I stood up, trying not to fall over with the awkward weight on my back, and started back down the mountain. When I was going as fast as I could, I was barely faster than a speed-walk; I could've gone faster, but I would've fallen much easier. Gabumon trotted along beside me as a spotter. I was thankful that I wasn't alone for this, otherwise it could go horribly wrong.

When there were only a few minutes left of walking left, there was another crash and I had to stop in order to stay standing. What followed, though, was worse than all of the explosions.

A piercing roar exploded from above, one so loud that I nearly dropped Guilmon to cover my ears. I bent down, burrowing my ears in my shoulders to try and stifle the painful scream. I saw Gabumon beside me, his ears pressed down with his paws covering them.

I was about to fall over when the sound stopped. Only then did I realise that I too was screaming. My eyes were watering, and I could only envy Guilmon for not having heard the sound. Staggering up to my feet once more, I stumbled down the rest of the mountain and started to pick up my pace. Gabumon seemed happier now that he could move freely on flat land again.

I stopped for a minute to look up at the mountainside and saw that the hole was considerably bigger now. I just hoped that nothing would end up coming out of it, especially after what had happened to Guilmon.

"What are you waiting for?" Gabumon asked, "we need to get out of here!"

I nodded, turning back around and continuing towards Gabumon's cave.

Two hours of walking led us to a small river. There I placed Guilmon on the ground and bent over into the river to take a drink. Gabumon did the same, and from there I decided that I should tend to Guilmon's wounds. They had stopped bleeding after the long walk, but they were caked over and I was worried that they would get infected. I had nothing to bandage the wounds…

"Gabumon," I said, "do you have anything that could be used as a bandage for Guilmon's cuts?"

"I haven't got anything that could do that…" he furrowed his brow in thought, "but there might be something nearby that could help."

"All I need is a few strips of cloth… most of these can go without," I said slowly, examining a few cuts that layered his arms. "There are some though… yeah, they really need bandages." I was looking in particular at one on his left shoulder; had it been any deeper I was sure that bone would be visible. It too had caked over with dry blood, but I didn't think it was going to last very long the way it was.

Gabumon nodded. "I'll be gone for about half an hour though; will you be good on your own?"

I looked around, searching for anything that might be predatory. "I think I'll be fine," I said, "Guilmon is the one who really needs help."

He nodded again and ran off into the forest again, disappearing in seconds. I turned around and went back to Guilmon, checking over his cuts again. Then, still worried about infections, I lifted him as best I could (I was never really good with upper strength) and set him down next to the water. My stomach growled, but I ignored it.

Then I dipped my hand in the water, cupped some out and dropped it on the big cut on his shoulder. Quickly, I slipped the cuff of my shirt over the heel of my hand and gently rubbed the wound. It would've been much easier if Guilmon had been awake, but I had to make do with my current situation. _"I wish I didn't have to wait for Gabumon to get here," _I thought, _"it would be much easier to do this if I just had bandages from the beginning."_ I sighed, then continued cleaning the rest of Guilmon's wounds.

When I finished with the main wounds, I decided that it would be enough. None of the other wounds were deep or long, and I had to wonder what it was that had given him these multiple lacerations. After a minute of pondering, I lifted him up again and pulled him over to the nearest big tree and leaned him up against it. I slumped down on the tree beside him and closed my eyes to rest. I still remembered what Gabumon had told me earlier that day and made sure that I didn't let myself fall asleep.

_"You know," _I thought, _"for the Digital world, there haven't been many digimon wandering around. Of course, just thinking that is going to jinx it."_

And, true to fate, there was a loud roar and a swift wind that picked up. I looked up just in time to see a giant, blue, winged digimon fly overhead. It didn't stop, which was a relief because it was about the size of a garage, but it made me rethink how I was looking at this world.

_"Maybe I just haven't been noticing them until now," _I thought hopefully, _"because I really don't want to have to think that I can jinx that kind of thing. Either way, Gabumon should be getting back…"_ From there, I stood up and checked Guilmon again. He was still unconscious, but he didn't look like he had become that way from falling down half a mountain. Instead, he looked like he was just sleeping. _"Almost as if I could wake him up with a slight nudge."_ I even picked my hand up to do so, but I heard Gabumon approaching and decided that it was best not to.

I stood up, swaying around from a head rush, but I got out of it quickly. I whipped around and saw Gabumon ducking underneath a low branch, and then coming out beside the river. He had a pile of grey cloth under his arm. I didn't even bother wondering where he had found it, for I had seen weirder things since coming to this world.

"I got the cloths!" he said happily, handing them up to me. "It was much easier to find than I thought."

"Thanks, Gabumon," I said, taking them, "this shouldn't take long at all now." I unfolded them to find that they were two separate pieces of cloth, both longer than they were wide. _"This is perfect!"_ I took the first one and tore it into four long strips. "This would be better with hot water, but it'll have to do dry."

First, I took the widest of the strips and wrapped it tightly around Guilmon's shoulder. It wouldn't have helped if I had done it loosely, and I watched in slight fear as the cloth gained a small red line across it. I didn't hesitate to tie the others just as tight. There was another cut on his opposite arm, lower down on the biceps, but it wasn't as serious as the first one, another on leg, and one particularly long cut on his gut. I took another strip from the second cloth and tied it to the last one. I was able to tie most of it, but it wasn't that great in comparison to the other ones that I tied up.

I glanced at his tail for the second time since finding him and gaped once more at the array of bruises that layered it. I felt a slight amount of rage to whoever had done this. Guilmon had saved my life several times in one day, and I had to wonder what had upset someone enough to reason to cause so much pain to one so innocent.

Then I remembered that Gabumon had said that there were good digimon and bad digimon, and I let the rage build up a bit more. _"I'll work on revenge later," _I thought, pushing the idea aside.

"I think we should get back now," Gabumon suggested. "It'll be close to dark anyway when we get back."

I nodded in agreement, then hoisted Guilmon onto my back once again. "Well, lead the way then. I only knew how to find Guilmon, not how to get back to your place."

"Sounds good, then," Gabumon nodded, turning and walking forwards into the forest. I looked up at Guilmon once more before following Gabumon back.

After an hour of walking or so, Guilmon started to stir a little, and I looked up at him as his eyes creaked open. He seemed confused with his surroundings, which wasn't surprising. He probably didn't ever remember leaving the mountain, let alone understanding that he had gone many, many kilometres since then. "Where are we?" he asked listlessly, stumbling over his words.

"We're going to Gabumon's cave," I said gently, making sure that I kept my voice low. "Don't worry yourself; I'll take you there."

He smiled weakly and I felt him rest his head on my shoulder, putting a little bit of strength into holding on. "Thanks," he whispered.

It was hours later when we finally made it to Gabumon's cave. I was exhausted from carrying Guilmon around on my back for half of the day, but I felt like a better person for finally having put my first-aid skills into use. Gabumon had left to go and find some food; he had heard my stomach growling an hour back and became worried for me. As soon as we returned, I placed Guilmon down, leaning him against the wall of the cave. He was still asleep, but just barely. Next, I sat down beside him and tried to rest. I did the most work today than I had ever done in my life, and I was quite proud of myself.

When we had arrived at the cave, the sun was already reaching the mountains, turning the sky into a beautiful display of colours.

Eventually, Gabumon did return with another armful of fruits. Under his other arm, though, he had a few leaves of some unrecognisable plant. "I'm back," he said, strolling into the cave. He dropped the leaves at the entrance and brought the food to us. It was at that point that I decided to wake Guilmon.

I nudged his side, making sure that I didn't touch any of his wounds. "Hey," I said quietly, "Gabumon brought some dinner."

His eyes creaked open, revealing the slits of amber. He shook his head a bit and snorted, trying to wake himself up. Once his vision appeared to have focused, he looked at me and gave a shout of joy, jumping up from his spot and embracing me. "You're all right!" he said happily, catching me by surprise. Apparently he didn't remember having waking up earlier that day, which wasn't that impossible to believe. He had only been half-awake, and his head was probably still shaken up from the big fall down the mountain. He let go of me and looked around the small cave, trying to gather his bearings. "Where are we?" he asked.

Gabumon stepped up, presenting a fruit to either of us. "We're in my cave, Guilmon," he said calmly, "Ian brought you here after you fell down the mountain."

Guilmon had been in the process of taking the fruit from him, a small purplish fruit in a weird shape, but as soon as Gabumon had mentioned the mountain, his pupils shrunk down to the size of pinpoints and he became rigid. He hissed, baring his pointed teeth and when I tried to calm him down by placing my hand on his shoulder (the good one), a red spark jumped from his body, shocking me.

I yelped in alarm, bringing Guilmon back to reality. His eyes returned to normal, and he shook his head around, regaining control of his body. He looked at both Gabumon and I in confusion, since we both had scared and confused looks on our faces. He took the fruit from Gabumon's hand and continued like nothing had happened.

Deciding that it would be best to let Guilmon assume that nothing had happened, I also took a fruit and started eating.

When we finished the small pile of fruit, Gabumon explained to me that the leaves he brought in were medicinal and when they were smashed up, they made for a good disinfectant.

Outside, the sun had almost set and there was very little light left outside. I convinced Gabumon that Guilmon needed some exercise, and he let us go outside for a short walk. He, however, was tired and wanted to get some sleep. So, we both stood up and left Gabumon to himself in his cave.

Once Guilmon and I had made it outside (crawling down low for him had been particularly difficult with all his injuries), we walked casually down to the forest. There was only a tiny bit of the sun still showing, so there was little light to walk by.

"What happened to you when we came back to the Digiworld?" Guilmon asked after a while.

I didn't hesitate to tell him about how I had been attacked by the Pagumon, and how I had been saved by Gabumon. It was a short tale, but it still made Guilmon worried for me. He had to see the cuts on my arms to believe me that they weren't serious. "What happened to me was nothing," I said, trying to brush it off, "what happened to you?"

I was worried that he might freak out again, but all he did this time was shudder in fear. "I don't really know where I was," he said quietly, crossing his arms for warmth. It hadn't got dark yet, but I could tell that he was scared about where he had been. "I must've been in a tunnel, because wherever I went there were walls all around me. There wasn't any light, either, and all I could do was keep going forwards. I couldn't tell how much time was passing, either, and the darkness made me too scared to sleep. It stayed like that until just before you found me, when something appeared in the darkness. There's never been anything that scary before in the Digiworld… it was huge. Bigger than a Tyrannomon… I didn't know what to do, so when it started attacking me, all I could do was fight back. My attacks were useless, though. It threw me around like a baby digimon, throwing me into the wall and shooting me with its energy blasts. Then, when it threw me at the wall again, I crashed through it and just fell down the mountain." He shuddered, leaning against me in fear. "Thank-you for finding me," he said, his voice shaky from the story.

"You saved my life in my world," I replied, putting my arm over his shoulder, "it's the least I could do."

He smiled, and we started heading back to Gabumon's cave.


	4. Chapter 4

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Four**

I awoke the next morning in another cold sweat, almost screaming in fear from the night terrors I had just been living in. Guilmon lay next to me, his foot twitching and a grin on his face. At least someone was sleeping easy.

Gabumon lay a few feet away, still fast asleep as the sun started to fill up the cave. I stood up, unbuttoning a few buttons of my shirt as I walked outside, trying to relieve myself of the heat that seemed intent on suffocating me. _"What is wrong with me?" _I asked myself, _"I haven't had nightmares since I was young, and now, all of a sudden, they come back worse than ever before? I wish I could just sleep normally… instead of being a helpless child in a foreign land."_ I pushed my sweaty hair out of my face again, wishing that I had something to tie it back with so I could get rid of a bit more of this heat.

Instead of going down the mountain, like I normally did, I decided to go up. To my surprise, a few bird digimon flew by overhead; I shrunk back to avoid being seen, but after they were gone I remembered that not all digimon were bad.

Soon, I came upon a small clearing with tall grass in it. I looked around for trouble before I went into it, but it seemed safe enough. I lay down in the middle of the clearing, soaking in the sunlight. Although it was hot out already, it was a comfortable, not like being hot from a night terror.

It only took a few minutes before I was feeling good again, at which point I decided that it would be best to go back to the cave in case they woke up and found me not there. I got up and started walking down the hill again. My foot, however tender it was, was healing quickly and I was quite happy with it.

In the cave, both digimon were still asleep, so I lay back down on the ground next to Guilmon and rested.

_"The Digiworld is such a wonderful place," _I thought in content, _"even when I'm being attacked or running away from monsters it still manages to be the best place I've ever been in. After that huge fight in my world… I wonder if anyone else could see them? I certainly hope they could after the bridge broke. Too bad none of my friends saw it; they would've loved it. Oh well… at least the police will have a fun time looking for me. Maybe they'll think I'm dead and they'll just forget about me. Then I wouldn't have to go back to my family if I ever get stuck going back there."_

Gabumon shifted in his sleep, making me pause my thoughts for a moment.

_"Maybe that's what I can do in this world," _I thought, thinking to how I had dressed Guilmon's wounds, _"healing the digimon that need my help. So far it seems like something that might be helpful here."_ I pondered that idea for a while, musing over the possibilities of it and how I might be able to accomplish them. _"It would certainly be something to do, and it would make me a better person, I guess." _I snorted. _"That's not self conscious of conceited at all…" _

There was as bit more shuffling and I saw that Gabumon had awoken. He looked over at me and said, "Guilmon's still out like a log, then?"

I smiled. "He's a hard sleeper," I replied, "but I suppose anyone would be after going through what he did."

He nodded. "You been up long?"

"Not too long," I lied, "I did go out for a quick stroll."

The digimon sighed; he knew the truth. "You had night terrors again, didn't you?" he asked.

I hung my head in shame. "Yeah," I said, "but it's nothing! I'm sure it's just a coincidence that I had them two nights in a row."

"You were screaming this time," he said quietly, "if Guilmon weren't so out of it, he wouldn't have slept through it. Are you sure that there isn't anything wrong?"

I shook my head, being entirely truthful now. "I don't know why I'm having them," I said, "maybe I'm just nervous about being in a new world."

"Well," he said then, "I'm going to go and find some breakfast. You should stay here and wait for Guilmon to wake up." With that, he turned and left the cave.

After a minute, I decided to go and wait outside. Waiting in fresh air must be better than waiting in a small cave. I rolled onto my feet and hopped outside, sitting down on the hill directly beside the entrance.

The trees around the cave were gigantic, reaching up higher than most of the trees I had ever been around. They had strange leaves with even stranger colours, things that I would never have expected to see outside of a cartoon. _"Either way," _I thought, lying down on the grass, a cool breeze picking up, _"it still beats home."_

A rustling sound captured my attention and I looked over to see Guilmon's nose sticking out from under the grass.

"Are you finally awake, Guilmon?" I asked as the rest of his body emerged from the cave.

When he was entirely out of the cave, he sniffed for a second, then shook his body out like a dog. Then he looked up at me and smiled, nodding vigorously. "I'm just glad to be out of that mountain," he said, standing beside me. "Where's Gabumon?"

"He just went out to get breakfast," I replied, "he should be back soon."

Guilmon sat down on the grass, leaning against me. "Thank-you again for saving me, Ian-mon," he said in a quiet voice. He shivered, remembering the fear of the darkness. I knew the feeling of what it had been like… I had experienced it for the past two nights in a row. "I'm just glad that you didn't have to be there for it… but you're safe."

I remembered, once again, the device that had appeared when I came to the Digiworld. When I rooted it out of my pocket, I held it out to Guilmon to see. "Guilmon," I said, "do you know what this thing is? I got it right before we came to this world… when you grew really big at the bridge in my world."

He touched it with his nose, sniffing at it carefully. "That's what made me digivolve!" he said with a smile.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Well… do you know what it's called? Or how it ended up in my backpack?"

At this, Guilmon shook his head. "I don't," he answered. "Maybe someone here might know what it is, though."

I sighed, returning it to my pocket. _"Maybe I'll never find out what it is," _I thought dismally. _"But if it helped him evolve – no, _digivolve_, then I'll be okay. Especially if we run into that mountain digimon again."_ "What did you bring me to this world in the first place for?" I asked.

Guilmon's eyes lit up. "There _is_ someone who might know what it is!" he exclaimed.

My mind skidded to a halt. "Where did that come from?" I asked, "but who?"

"It's the same person that told me to come and find you!" he said getting gradually more excited.

"Well, who is it?" I asked, now having made the conclusion to Guilmon's distorted sentence pattern.

"We have to go and meet him, right away!" Guilmon said, standing up in titillation, "he really wanted to talk to you!"

"Well, shouldn't we wait for Gabumon?" I asked, standing up beside Guilmon, "he won't know where we've gone."

Guilmon shook his head furiously, looking around for Gabumon in case he was already coming back. I knew he wouldn't be, but I knew he would worry if we weren't there when he got back. "We can't just go without telling him!" I pleaded, knowing that I would feel bad if we didn't tell him. "Please, Guilmon, let's just wait a few more minutes for him." I placed my hand on Guilmon's shoulder, calming him down. "He won't be much longer."

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Only until he gets back though," he agreed.

We waited in silence for Gabumon's return, and fortunately for Guilmon's sanity, it wasn't long. He came strolling into our sight with another big pile of fruit. Guilmon jumped up, immediately alerting Gabumon that something was up. As soon as he got up to us, I stood up and said, "I have to thank you for your hospitality, Gabumon, but Guilmon has remembered that he has to take me somewhere."

Gabumon nodded, a smile on his face. "That's fine," he replied, "but you can't go without taking some breakfast. Here," he handed us a few fruit. "And don't forget to bring your cloth and herbs."

I had completely forgotten them, and I quickly rushed back to get them, then returned outside. Guilmon had already eaten his fruit, but I had to give a proper good-bye. I extended my hand to Gabumon and said, "thank-you, Gabumon. I don't know what we would've done without you. If there's ever anything I can do to repay you-"

Gabumon stopped me. "It was just great to have some company here. I'm just glad that I could help someone out. You can come and visit me any time." He took my outstretched hand and shook it, his face in a full smile now.

Guilmon then grabbed my free arm and pulled me back in the direction Gabumon had come from. Laughing at his eagerness, I waved to Gabumon. "It was nice meeting you!" I called as he slowly started to disappear.

"So, do you actually know where we're going, Guilmon?" I asked. We had been walking for half and hour and we didn't seem to be going in any particular direction. A while back we had turned about ninety degrees and continued forwards, but I hadn't asked any questions then.

Guilmon nodded, but he didn't say anything about it to specify where or what it might be.

"Well, is it in the forest?" I asked persistently, "or is it near the Pagumon village? Or somewhere else entirely?"

He shook his head. "Nope, it's in a desert," he said intently, "many miles away from the Pagumon village. There's a temple in the middle of the desert. That's where we're going."

I stopped in my tracks, causing Guilmon to stop and look back at me. "Many miles away?" I asked, "well, how long is it supposed to take to get there?"

Guilmon racked his memories, then said, "maybe a week? Three days are spent in the desert to get there."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "A week? Three days in a desert? How are we supposed to survive in a desert for three days?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped, obviously at a loss for words.

"Guilmon, I'm not trying to stop us from going there," I said reassuringly, "I just don't want to go and spend a week on something that's not going to get us anywhere."

"But Gennai," Guilmon said, "he really needs to talk to you!"

I stopped for a moment. "Gennai?" I asked, "who is Gennai? Is he the one who sent you to come and find me?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said, taking my hand and trying to pull me forwards. "He said that we'll all be in danger if you didn't come to this world. There would be many bad things that happen, and you were the only one who would be able to save us."

That's what got me. I started forwards again, letting Guilmon pull me. _"This is the reason I came here? To save the world? What can I do that any digimon can't?"_ "Are you sure it's me he wants?" I asked slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. "It's not some other kid? I mean, it's not like there aren't any other kids in my world."

"Nope," Guilmon said with a smile, pulling me faster, "it's you he wants. Who else would be able to make me digivolve?"

"I thought you said that the little machine made you digivolve," I argued.

"But you're the one who had it," Guilmon continued. "Don't you want to be in the Digiworld?"

I was taken aback by this comment. Running up beside him, I took his hand this time. "I really want to be here," I said quickly, "and I can't thank you enough for bringing me here. Do you know where I'd be if you hadn't brought me here? I'd be on a bus, probably alone, waiting for the next day to come so I can end up feeling the same way." Then I hugged him; the only way I could think of saying thank-you any more. "You've saved my life again, Guilmon."

Again, he was at a loss for words, but he didn't need to say anything. I let go of him, took his hand and pulled him forwards. "Come on, Guilmon," I said, a feeling of content pouring throughout my body.

We walked until it started to get dark. There had been a few digimon that passed by, but none of them were very big or evil. I felt much safer now that I had Guilmon with me. He helped me find food, which was something that I hadn't done yet in the Digiworld. We found some interesting looking fruits, but they were all the same as ones that Gabumon had brought us before. And since there were no caves to be found, we decided to stay at a small clearing. It wasn't necessarily a clearing, though, rather a small standing of trees that had fallen down or been knocked down. There were two that made a 'v' shape, and we sat down in the centre of it.

The logs must've been at least four feet in diameter, so when we were sitting down they easily cleared our heads and made it so that even if something did want to eat us, they would have to actually come right overtop of us to find us.

Soon, night fell and we were enshrouded in darkness. The cold started to set in too, and we decided that it was best to go to sleep. We huddled on the ground, our heads at the heart of the 'v' and our feet sticking out into the cold. I smiled, leaning against Guilmon's warm back as I slipped back into sleep.

I blasted out of sleep into complete darkness. I wasn't screaming this time, but rather crying. Fortunately, I didn't wake Guilmon up, and as I tore off my shirt to rid myself of the unbearable heat, I walked out into the forest and tried to cool down. I rolled up my pant legs and pulled back my hair, nearly screaming in agony at the heat that seemed to consume my soul.

It took all my strength to not wake up the forest with my cries of pain. When I stepped in a pool of condensation, I threw myself to the ground, rolling in it in a desperate attempt to rid myself of the heat.

"_WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?"_ I screamed at myself, _"WHY CAN'T I JUST SLEEP?"_ I could hardly believe that the dew wasn't just sizzling up as I touched it, but after a few minutes of intense heat, I started to cool down.

By the time I could say that I felt normal again, I was crying from exhaustion and pain. I had rolled over a couple sharp twigs and stones; I could feel the punctures in my back and chest, and if it had been lighter out, I could've seen the blood that was sprayed all over the ground.

It took a few minutes for me to find Guilmon again, which was good because I knew that if I was having difficulty finding him, it would be much harder than I thought for enemies to find us.

I pulled my shirt back on and lay down next to Guilmon, hoping that I wouldn't have any more night terrors. As I started to close my eyes, a soft breeze picked up, blowing downwind from us.

A huge crash snapped both Guilmon and I into alertness. I looked around wildly, but I didn't need to wait long before we knew which way the commotion was coming from.

Guilmon stuck his nose out and sniffed the air, a stern look entering his eyes. "Someone's coming," he said quietly. He was about to turn around when he found another scent. As soon as he caught it, he looked to me with wide eyes. "Did something hurt you?" he asked in a hiss.

I shook my head; I hadn't seen any other digimon since the night previous.

Instead of dropping the subject, he grabbed my shoulders and turned me around until I had my back to him. He sniffed my back with his nose firm against me. "What happened?" he asked, knowing that something was wrong.

I was reluctant to tell him that I was rolling around on the ground, but I didn't want to put us in any more danger. Quickly as I could, I filled him in about the night terrors and what had happened last night.

"Well, there's no time to worry about that," he said, taking my hand, "we need to get out of here before it finds us."

I followed Guilmon deeper into the forest, the crashing behind us seeming a tad quieter. I was about to feel safe, but there was another crash much closer to us, wrenching a cry of fear from my mouth. _"If someone trips over, I'm going to freak out,"_ I thought vehemently.

There was a roar from behind us, but it was much less fearsome than the battle cries that I had heard before. "Guilmon!" I called, "what the heck is that thing?"

"I don't know," he replied with as calm of voice as he could muster, "but it's hungry!"

That didn't seem to quell my fears to the extent that I thought it would. "What do we do?" I asked frantically.

"Keep running!" Guilmon shouted, now quiet scared himself.

We ran as hard as we could; I felt bad because Guilmon had to slow down so I could keep up. The crashing behind us seemed to be getting louder, no matter how hard I exerted myself, so when I started to feel an attack of shinsplints coming, I let out a roar of anger. Guilmon looked back at me in worry, but I shook my head. Now was the time to be ignoring something as pathetic as shinsplints.

I cursed myself as I started to stumble, and I gaped in fear when I saw the sharp looking branches that littered the ground. When we reached them, I bit hard on my lip and grunted in pain as one pierced my healing wound from back in Vancouver. _"Damn it!" _I thought, _"well at least I have those herbs this time."_

Finally, after about ten minutes of running, the inevitable caught up with us. There was a huge crunching of trees. We both whipped around to see five more trees come crashing down to the side. "Get out of the way!" Guilmon shouted, lunging at me as a huge limb from a tree came falling down where we had been standing.

The digimon was about twenty feet tall, deep navy blue and resembled a flightless dragon. It had a white chest and a black stripe down its back. Its wide array of sharp, glistening teeth was bared in a way that made me realise what was probably going to happen. It was all I could do to hold my stomach contents in where they belonged. The claws scared me almost as much as the teeth: they were several inches long and could probably cut through steel if given the proper circumstances.

It lifted its head up and let out a blood-curdling roar, and as I clutched to Guilmon in fear, I too let out a scream. "GUILMON!"

When my eyes opened, Guilmon was glowing again, and in an explosion of light, he shot up about fifteen feet. My memories shot back to the strange device, and as I whipped it out of my pocket, I found that it was glowing with the same light that emitted from Guilmon. There wasn't much time to think, though, because at that moment, the two giant digimon clashed in an explosion of sound and pain.

I had to run out of the way and take cover under the trees that hadn't fallen down yet. As I searched the field, I saw the cloths that Guilmon had been wearing, torn into many, many pieces and spread over the ground. There were many roars and cries of pain as the two mammoths collided, a wrestling match that shook the very ground.

Fists hit chests, tails smashed into trees, but what bothered me the worst was the biting. Guilmon managed to sink his teeth into the digimon's skin, but the attacker bit Guilmon many more times.

After a minute or so of this, I started to get worry. My eyes returned to the device I held in my hand, and I thoughtlessly pushed at the buttons in hopes that it might do something. "COME ON, GUILMON!" I screamed, "YOU HAVE TO DEFEAT THIS MONSTER!"

At that, Guilmon seemed to have heard me because he opened his mouth and shot out a giant red blast of energy. "PYRO BLASTER!"

The energy shot right into the monster's chest, and it let out one last roar before it completely disintegrated. The light faded from both Guilmon and the device and Guilmon quickly shrunk back down to his normal size.

I ran from the trees and went to Guilmon, embracing him fiercely. "You were amazing!" I exclaimed, swinging him around in a circle. "You just destroyed him! He was no match for you!"

Guilmon started to smile at this too; the realisation of having won such a great battle started to sink in. Finally, we were both laughing and we collapsed to the ground as happy as can be. "We make a great team," he said in mid-laugh.

I knew I hadn't done anything to help, but I felt good being part of something so magnificent. "Now that's a way to start off the morning!" I exclaimed in pure joy.

The next three days followed pretty much the same fashion: me waking up super early in the morning in a state of pain, fear or sadness, Guilmon and I getting meals, walking for the rest of the day, and finding a place to sleep when the sun became to low to continue. We didn't run into any more monsters, which was a relief, although we did come across a few annoying rookie digimon.

Apparently there were six stages of digivolution: baby, in-training, rookie, champion, ultimate and mega. Guilmon was at rookie level, and when he digivolved, he became a champion level digimon. Also, when he digivolved, all the wounds that he had previously received from the mountain attack healed.

I used one of the leaves that Gabumon had given my on my feet, and I started to regret having lost my shoes in my world. The leaves had stung terribly (they turned into a salve when water was added to them), but the results were amazing: I could almost see how fast the cuts were healing, and by the next day, they had already callused over.

Now that Guilmon knew about the night terrors, he seemed to be very worried for me. He never asked about them, which was a relief, but he always seemed to be holding back on doing so. I knew that his curiosity was being scratched raw, but after I found myself being paralysed in fear whenever I thought about them during the day, I didn't feel that I should voice them. At the very least, he paid closer attention to me around morning and night, which although I found it annoying that I had to be, it was at the same time comforting. At least there was someone around who cared.

The night terrors themselves at least didn't seem to be getting worse, which was my greatest fear. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night either; I just would wake up a bit earlier than Guilmon in a sweat. I would contemplate not sleeping sometimes, but every night I was hopeful that they wouldn't reoccur. That and I enjoyed feeling rested in the morning, even if it was in a state of intense fear or sadness.

Finally, on the fourth day, the forest started to thin out and the ground became more and more gravely. And then, right after we finished finding and eating our lunch, the trees just stopped.

We had reached the desert.

Guilmon smiled with glee, for his job was going to be completed. Neither of us knew what to expect when we reached the temple, but we knew that we would be able to face it together.

The desert reached out to the very ends of the world, practically fusing with the sky at the end of our vision. The only thing that changed within the desolate, golden landscape was on one side: a tall mountain range that curved off until we couldn't see it anymore. It was at the edge of the forest that we decided to stop. Even though it was the middle of the day, I didn't think that we should be trying to start into a desert during the hottest part of the day.

"Where are we going to get water, Guilmon?" I asked once we found somewhere with enough shade to sit. "Or rather, how did you survive going into the desert when you went?"

Guilmon didn't seem to notice the question very much, but he did look up when I asked it. After a few seconds, he started to answer. "… I remember that I drank some water on the way," he said hesitantly. "I don't really know. I didn't go hungry or thirsty when I went out there…"

"Well, did you find a desert oasis or something when you went?" I asked, picturing a scene from a movie. "Or maybe just a watering hole?"

He was really racking his brain now, but he started to get frustrated when he couldn't remember. When I thought he was about to hyperventilate, I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"It's alright, Guilmon," I said gently, "I know this means a lot to you, and I trust that if you could get out there on your own that we could do it together. I won't stop following you because of a little setback like this."

Guilmon sighed in despair, a sad expression on his face. He really couldn't remember the trip into the middle of the desert, and it was almost heartbreaking how bothered he was by it. "I'm sorry," he said miserably, leaning on my shoulder.

"It's alright," I said again, patting his back. I felt like I was taking care of a child, just one who was the same size as me. "We'll make it there. After all, I didn't travel through an entire world to stop this far, did I?"

That seemed to cheer Guilmon up a bit.

That night was filled with some of the worst night terrors I had had yet. I would be walking down a pathway of broken glass with bare feet. There would be no way for me to stop myself, no matter how hard I tried. Even when my blood littered the ground, I couldn't stop myself from walking. The pain was very real, and my screams were enough to make one's skin peel. On either side of me was an endless desert and the sky seemed to be made up entirely of a sun. The heat was too much for me to bear, but even when my hair started to burn and my clothes were practically singing in heat, I didn't stop.

The next nightmare was filled with darkness again. Roars identical to the ones the mountain monster emitted came at me from every side, and no matter how hard I ran, or how long, the darkness never left and the roars never faltered. I was crying, screaming, and roaring back at them, but they never went away. Then the heat came, just as intense from the desert terror, and when my feet started burn I fell to my hands and knees and crawled on. Soon my entire body was just one massive burn and I couldn't move anymore. I just lay down in the darkness and madness and cried.

The last terror was almost a relief in comparison to the first two. I was swimming in an ocean, just swimming; the water was cool, deep and fresh. There was nothing to swim to, nor was there anything to swim away from. It was just an endless body of water as far as the eye could see. It seemed to be hours of just milling around in this freshwater ocean, and it was pleasant until I started to lose my energy. The clouds above opened up and a thick rain poured down on me, making it even more difficult to stay above water. Then came the waves; they were small at first, but eventually they were far taller than I was. I had to dive under them to avoid being crushed, and then I barely had enough time to gasp for more air before I was tossed under again. Finally, when I was coming up for air, a wave crashed down on me, forcing me down with barely enough air for a few seconds. I tried to swim up, but the current was pushing and pulling me down into the dark waters. Panic struck through me, my weary body kicking as hard as it could to make it up to the surface and my heart seemingly tearing through my chest with effort to beat. I opened my mouth, knowing that there wouldn't be air, and I inhaled water, my lungs screaming as they were attacked by the violent liquid.

Just when I thought I was going to die – no, _knew_ I was going to die – a bright light surrounded me. I wasn't breathing, no, I was still struggling for air, but I seemed to calm down. Guilmon materialised in the light, his arms outstretched to me. _"Ian…" _he called. _"It's going to be okay… you're going to make it."_

The corners of my vision were blackening, and even though death was upon me, I wasn't scared of it. Because Guilmon was there. He reached out to me, and with my last ounce of strength, I reached out to him. I coughed, inhaling more water, but I didn't hesitate. My vision swirled out of focus, but Guilmon was still there in a blurry haze.

"_It's okay… I'm right here."_

I was being shaken awake; Guilmon had me by my shoulders and was calling, "wake up, Ian-mon! Wake up!"

I gasped for air, finally filling my lungs with the precious gas. Then I leapt into Guilmon's arms, coughing from the lack of air I had just been experiencing. "Guilmon!" I cried, tears flowing out of my eyes. "Thank-you, Guilmon!" It had never felt so good to have another person there with me; I wasn't alone anymore, and Guilmon had saved me from the darkness.

He seemed confused as to why I was thanking him, but I didn't care. "You were crying," he said. His voice was shaky; he had been scared for me. "Then you were flailing around and you stopped breathing."

"I was drowning," I gasped, my breathing coming back to normal. "But you saved me! I was just about to die, and you came and saved me." I didn't let go of him for a long time, and when I did, I wasn't crying anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Five**

The sun was about an hour away from rising, and once we had calmed down, we decided to get some breakfast and start going into the desert. Since the sun hadn't come up yet, the desert wasn't nearly as hot as it was during the day. Before we went out, though, I took the time to wrap some of the cloths around my feet. I knew that they wouldn't completely protect them from the burning sand, and that they would be extremely uncomfortable once sand got in them, but they would prevent the greatest part of the burns from appearing.

I was still a bit worried about finding food and water in the desert, but I trusted Guilmon and didn't try to pack any fruit with me. We didn't waste any time, then, to get out into the desert and try to get as much distance covered as we could.

The sand varied in textures throughout the area for the first hour or so. It changed quickly from very fine to very coarse within steps of each other. And when the sun appeared over the horizon, it heated up in seconds. By the time the sun was several spans away from the horizon, the sand was burning both mine and Guilmon's feet and parched my mouth. I was surprised that I wasn't sweating as much as I thought I should, but I didn't dare complain about it. Too many stories and movies had been made in my world about people dying in the desert for me to think of questioning my survival.

We made no talk during the journey, and I don't think I would've talked if I could. My mouth was dry no matter how many times I tried to moisturise it, and I was feeling quite irritable in the heat. My eyes, too, were scratchy and dry, and I was certain that they were bloodshot.

I checked on the device in my pocket every so often in case anything appeared on it, but there was never anything.

Guilmon seemed to be doing a bit better than I in the desert. His eyes seemed fine, he didn't seem that thirsty; overall he just looked a bit tired.

"_Maybe his body is accustomed to the desert,"_ I thought, _"I wonder if digimon can be native to a particular landscape?"_

At midday, I needed to take a break. We hadn't found anything to drink or eat, and I was beginning to think that the only reason Guilmon survived the desert the first time was because of his strange immunity to the desert's traits. I didn't want to think that way, though, nor did I want to fall victim to my own weaknesses and slow our trip down. Still, it would be just stupid to think that I could survive long without it.

"Guilmon," I rasped, "is there any water around here?" My dry mouth made my talking sound like with sand in it.

"You're thirsty?" he asked, somehow surprised by my statement.

I was taken aback by his response. _"He's not thirsty? Am I just that pathetic?"_ "Not much," I said, "if there's any around, though…"

He lifted his nose into the air and sniffed carefully. There wasn't much breeze in the desert, so I assumed that it would be easier to find a scent. It didn't take him long, but I didn't like his answer very much. "There's water," he said slowly, "but it's underground. A long way down… I can dig some up if you want."

"_Is it too much work?" _I didn't want to say anything stupid, so I merely nodded.

He took a deep breath, spread his claws apart, then started digging. The rate at which he did so was astounding! In less than a minute he was down about ten feet, and in less than five, I heard a splashing sound of him digging into water. I could only stare in amazement until he called me. "Found it!" he called, climbing up and sticking his head out of the hole.

Dumbfounded, I slid down the five-foot wide hole, reaching the bottom in seconds. Guilmon had stayed at the top so it wouldn't be too crowded down in the hole. The water at the bottom was clear and cool, extremely refreshing and strengthening for me; I was astounded at how quick it had come.

When I was done I needed Guilmon's help to get back out of the hole. It was roughly twenty feet deep, so I needed to pretty much run up the wall, sink my hands into the wall and climb as high as I could get. From there, Guilmon grabbed my hands and helped pull me up the rest of the way.

I looked around, a new vigour for the task at hand pushing me forwards. It was only then that I realised that we didn't really know which direction to go. At least, there were no landmarks or things that would direct a person on where to go. I voiced these fears to Guilmon, but he shook them off. "It's nothing," he said, "we have the sun to guide us."

I looked up and saw that the sun was already pulling its way behind us. It must've just been a break of luck that we had to go towards the way that it rose, and away from the direction it set. Looking back, I could barely see the forest from which we first emerged.

"_What are the chances of that?" _I thought in amazement, _"well, I guess anything goes in the Digiworld. I'll take it."_ My fears now quelled, we were ready to move along into the desert again. Even though I hadn't had anything to eat yet, I knew that a human being could go for about seven days without food, but only three without water. If I played my cards right… _"…Then I'll end up losing about fifteen pounds in three days. I'll be one of those anorexic freaky skinny people."_ "Guilmon, please tell me that there's food and water at the temple."

We had already started walking again, so his reply was brief. "There's food, yes, and water." He plodded on, not looking back or letting his eyes leave his path. I couldn't believe how concentrated he was on the journey, but then again, he hadn't failed to surprise me since I met him.

We continued on, not stopping until the sun started to disappear beneath the horizon behind us. Since the sun had grown closer to the horizon, the small dunes that surrounded us started to create shadows, and we often changed our pathway until we were walking beneath the shadows, savouring the escape from the wicked sun. There had been few clouds, and none were strong enough to block out the sun's rays.

The first thing that Guilmon did when we stopped was dig another hole in the ground until he struck water once again. Then, I jumped down there once he said he was finished drinking and sated my desperate thirst. I had denied myself of the luxury, because even though I knew it was an irrational feeling, I didn't want to feel like a free loader on Guilmon. He had saved my life several times already, and he wasn't even doing it for himself, but some person called Gennai.

When I finished drinking, there was only a little bit of water left in the hole, so I quickly unwrapped the bandages around my feet and sunk them into the water. It was sweet relief feeling the cold water between my singed toes, for I was certain that I had acquired many, many burns that day. _"Tomorrow's going to be a painful start," _I thought, dreading the feeling of walking on day-old burns.

I didn't waste much time, though. I wrapped the cloth around my feet again and scrambled out of the hole. I made it to the very top on my own, but as soon as I got out, I collapsed on the ground, fatigue getting the better of me.

"Come on," Guilmon said, helping me stand back up. He walked me over to a small burrow that he had made in the sand; it was barely a foot deep, but it looked like it would be better than sleeping on the flat ground. He let me down and I curled up into one side of it, him entering afterwards beside me.

Darkness had set in quickly, and the stars were clearly visible above us. I didn't have much time to think about it, though, before sleep took over my body.

The nightmares were much less frightening that night. Each time I was threatened to be overtaken by my own fear or sadness, Guilmon would appear and help me. The darkness wasn't as scary anymore when I had Guilmon beside me to walk with, and when the heat came to attack me, I stopped where I was and held onto Guilmon. Somehow, the ground and air around us wouldn't be as hot or uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, I still woke up in a hot sweat, crying in fear. _"Damn it," _I thought, mad at myself, _"you're such a baby, Ian. Nightmares still scaring you, even when Guilmon's there to help."_ I scolded myself a bit more before I realised that it wasn't completely dark out.

The sun was rising.

I jumped up, ignoring the uncomfortable heat and the pain from my feet, and woke Guilmon up. "Come on," I said gently, nudging his shoulder. "We should get moving before the sun gets up." My stomach growled painfully as I said this, but I still ignored it.

Guilmon stood up, shaking himself awake again, then got to work on digging up some more water. It was much quicker this time, though, for he used the hole from the night previous.

Once we were sated again, we hurried off towards the sun, trying to get as much distance as possible before the full brunt of the heat was upon us.

The day went on smoothly; there was little to no talk, and we only made two stops for water. I got a little worried a bit after midday, because the wind had picked up a bit and thrown sand at us. Fortunately, it hadn't been a sandstorm, which was probably the worst possible thing that could happen in the desert. The only other thing that worried me was that Guilmon didn't seem to be setting the pace anymore, but instead, I was. I asked him about it near the end of the day, but he said that he was just tired from hunger. I couldn't argue with that either, because my stomach hadn't shut up since late morning.

When we stopped for sleep that night, it took us a bit longer to fall asleep; our stomachs were too noisy to ignore right away.

The next day was very hope inspiring. There were many clouds in the sky, and it looked like it might even rain near the end. That, and it was the third day of travelling since we entered the desert, so I was hopeful that we would get to the temple that day.

My night terrors still were pretty fierce, but they weren't much worse than the night before.

We started off with another water break, then moved on into the not so bleak looking desert.

The first sign that luck wasn't appearing in our favour was that even though there were many, many thick clouds in the sky, the sun still managed to shine right down on us, the clouds somehow parting right for the sun.

I was soon parched again, but I didn't tell Guilmon that. We needed to get to the temple today; I didn't know how much more of this we could handle. Guilmon seemed to be lagging even farther behind me, which really worried me. Both of us were fasting for our third day, and even though I knew humans could last for seven days without food, I was beginning to have second thoughts that digimon would be the same.

After an hour went by, I noticed that Guilmon was looking in pretty bad shape. I wanted to ask, but when I looked back at him, his concentration was so strong; I didn't want to interrupt him.

By midday I was really worried about him. Wind had started to pick up again, and even though it gave a few minutes of relief from the unrelenting sun, the wind didn't stop growing. I would get struck by the sand at an unbelievable rate, and our pace was getting seriously slowed. There was sand in my eyes, in my mouth, in my ears and in my clothes.

I looked back at Guilmon, then yelped in fright. Guilmon was lying on the ground, motionless. "GUILMON!" I cried, dashing back to him. I leapt down at the ground beside him, my hand darting to his jugular. "GUILMON! GET UP!" Fear bolted through me; I wouldn't be able to survive in the desert without him. I looked around, but all I could see was sand, and all I could hear was the wind blasting sand around.

Without a second thought, I picked Guilmon up and hoisted him onto my back. He had a pulse, but it was weak. Hopelessness sunk in quickly as I dragged our bodies forwards. If it hadn't been hard enough to keep going on our own, now I had to practically carry another me along on the same set of feet.

Tears melted from my eyes, being snatched away by the wind as soon as they left the tear ducts. The sand seemed to be penetrating my skin; it was endless torture. Each step seemed to bring me closer to my last, and there was no reprieve.

Soon, I was crying non-stop; it seemed pointless to even keep trying, but I just kept going. Death was toying with me; it had brought me so close to death several times, and every time it let go, I would find myself right back in the same position or worse. What was worse now, though, is that there was no one to save me. _I _was the one who had to save Guilmon, and it didn't look like it was going to happen. For all I knew, the temple might've been an entire day away, and then I would surely die. But, it was also just as likely that it was only a few steps ahead of me.

My shins had been freaking out again, and one finally decided to give out. I put my foot down on a strange piece of ground, my shin muscle spasmed, and I fell forwards into the sand. Guilmon landed hard on me, knocking out the little breath I had left. My heart fluttered as I struggled to stay conscious, and I could feel the skipped beats in my throat.

Another scream of rage.

My stubbornness coming back to me, I struggled up to my feet. "I still have strength left," I said loudly, as if announcing it to death itself. "I'll fight for our lives!"

My foot plunged forwards, then the other one followed. Step by step, surge of pain by surge of pain, I kept moving forwards.

After about thirty long, agonising steps, I fell again.

"NO!" I roared, forcing myself up again. "I WILL NOT STOP!" I clutched to Guilmon's arms, dragging him forwards still.

Within the next seventy steps or so, I fell two more times, but when I fell for the third time, I couldn't find the energy to get back up. _"No!" _I had run out of energy to cry. _"It can't end like this!" _"GUILMON!" I shouted. "I know you can't hear me, but I want to thank you again…" My voice started to give out, as did my life force. "You changed my life… you turned it around… without you… I wouldn't have known there was… a better place…" A fit of coughing interrupted me. "Guilmon… thank-you…"

With that, I lost all my energy and my eyes slowly drooped shut.

"_Guilmon…"_

"Ian!" the mother figure shouted.

My eyes snapped open. "What?" I asked.

Something was wrong.

I was sitting in the silver Jetta station wagon that my mother drives. My eyes darted to the window; we were in a traffic jam on the Port Mann Bridge. It was a windy day, so the water was quite rough on the Fraser River below. "Where are we?" I asked in a panic, my hands darting around fear. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep," she replied with a scoff. "We're going to get you fitted for your jacket." She was obviously irritated, but I didn't care.

"_What just happened?"_ I asked myself in confusion, _"this isn't right… What was just happening? This can't be what was happening. I just can't remember what I was doing a minute ago…" _

The cars shifted forwards and the car started moving again. I looked to the door and found that it was locked. I pulled at the handle, but the door didn't open.

"_Why isn't that right?" _

"Ian, could you get the directions out for how to get to the tailor's?" The mother figure couldn't remember how to get there, even though we had gone two times already. I reached down into a pocket on the dashboard and pulled out the piece of paper.

"There was a desert," I said aloud. I had no idea what that meant, but it was the first thing that seemed right. "I was falling down…"

"What are you going on about?" she asked in annoyance, "it was just a dream! Now, what is the first instruction?"

I shook my head, a few more feelings coming back to me. "No!" I said loudly, "I'm dying! And so is… he… We need to get to the temple!"

"Ian, I'm not going to ask you again!" she said, raising her voice above mine, "just read the bloody instruction!"

"NO!" I roared, "can't you see that I'm dying? He's going to die too if I don't get up! It can't be much farther… it can't be!"

"Ian, I'm going to stop the car! It was just a dream!"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at her, "GUILMON!"

My eyes shot open, and my mouth opened wide with the name on my tongue. "GUILMON!" I shouted again.

But I wasn't in the desert.

I was in a bed? The white sheets were pulled up to my chin, but I quickly threw them away. It was a room of grey stone; it had a few bookcases, a dresser and a door, but was otherwise empty. My clothes… I looked down at them; they were clean. My shirt was as white as it had ever been, and it along with my pants looked like they had been ironed.

"_The device."_ I shoved my hand into my pocket, but it wasn't there. I looked around frantically for it, _"did I lose it in the desert? It makes Guilmon digivolve, I can't lose it!"_ My fears quickly came to a rest, though, for my eyes landed on it on the bedside table. I scooped it up, returned it to my pocket, then went to the door.

"_I need to find Guilmon,"_ I thought.

Yanking the door open, I found myself in an upstairs hallway. The room was huge; the ceilings were seven or eight feet above my head, the railings came up to my elbows, and there were several other doors that I'm sure led into more spacious rooms.

"Guilmon!" I called. My voice echoed eerily off the walls and down the long staircase. I ran to all the doors, but they were locked. _"This place is empty… why would the doors be locked?"_ I then dashed to the stairs and ran down them two at a time. This brought me to another gigantic room, which I guessed was the lobby, for there were two ten-foot tall doors at the base of them. "Guilmon!" I called again.

Panic touched me lightly and I started running. I whipped around the staircase, finding myself in a huge hall, or rather, the great hall. My voice was still echoing off the walls, and it sent chills down my spine. There were many doors that broke off this room, but there was one at the very end that had a light peeking through it. It was open just a crack, and I ran at it as fast as I could.

"GUILMON!" I shouted, hurling myself towards the door.

But, the second I reached it, it started to open. A tiny, balding man was standing there in priest attire, and he looked at me with eyes stuck shut with age. "You're finally here, Ian," he said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Six**

"I've been waiting a long time to meet you," the little man said, opening the door for me.

I was a bit confused by the greeting, but I wouldn't rest until I found Guilmon. "Are you Gennai?" I asked. I could see into the room, but it was very dark in there. There was, however, a faint glow on the walls; it was a beautiful golden colour.

The man nodded. "Yes, and its about time you woke up," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You've been unconscious for three days now."

_"Three days? How could I have been unconscious for that long?" _Even in a state of shock, I still managed to ask, "where's Guilmon?"

Gennai opened the door to its full extent, revealing a large chamber with thousands of scriptures on the walls. "He's alive and well," he said, pointing to the red reptile.

Guilmon was sitting on the floor with his back to me, looking at the inscriptions on the walls and ceiling. When I stepped into the room, his head turned and looked at me. His face lit up, and he leapt to his feet, "you're awake!" In the blink of an eye he was hugging me as if he hadn't seen me in months.

My head was almost spinning with the change of events. Where was I? What had happened after I became unconscious? And how on earth had we got to the temple? I was going to voice my confusion, but Gennai spoke first.

"I'm sure you have many questions, now," he said, walking slowly to the wall, "but there are many things that need to be said beforehand. There isn't much time, you see, because the Crest of Life won't be revealed for much longer. Now, if you'd please take out your digivice and come over to these carvings here…" He beckoned to me, so I followed him to the wall with Guilmon by my side. I assumed he meant the thing that made Guilmon digivolve, so I took it out of my pocket.

The wall before us was covered in strange text that I had never seen before, but I did recognise one picture. Gennai was standing beside a carving of a digivice that bore the Egyptian symbol of Life on the screen.

"Now please, take this," he said, handing me a strange octagonagal necklace. It was the same style as the digivice, so I guessed that they were meant to go together. When I looked up, he was still waiting, so I placed it around my neck. "And now, hold out the digivice to the Crest of Life."

I did so, and the digivice started beeping madly. Guilmon was alarmed, as he snorted in fear, but he held his ground. That's when the carving of the Crest of Life started to glow with the same light that was emitting from the digivice. Not a word escaped my mouth as the room exploded with light. Squinting through it, I saw that the piece of the wall had disappeared, and there was tiny little square floating in the air where it had been. It too was glowing gold, and I nearly stumbled in fear as it floated towards me, coming to rest after sliding behind a piece of glass on the necklace Gennai had just given me.

The light dissipated, and the room went back to normal, and there I stood: frozen in shock.

"What just happened?" I asked with a shaky voice.

Gennai nodded as if confirming something to himself. "I will tell you, but we mustn't tarry long; this temple won't be stable for very long now that the Crest of Life has entered the Tag." He took a brief moment to read the text that had appeared where the crest had been, then he led both Guilmon and I out of the room into the great hall. As we walked, he started talking. "Aeons ago, a prophecy was written in the Temple of Life, the building where we are now. It spoke of a great evil that would come to our world, one that could destroy the very fabric of the Digital World. Only the one who bore the Crest of Life would be able to defeat this evil, this Darkness, so we waited for millennia for that time to come. The one who had the Crest of Life would be very close to this being of Darkness, and it would be a long and painful battle between the two beings. There is no telling of whom would win this battle, only that the fate of this world lay in their hands. Recently, the barrier between our two worlds has begun to weaken, which is why Birdramon, Seadramon and Guilmon were able to get into your world. I had spoken to Guilmon prior to his venture into your world, since he was the first digimon to come to this temple since I discovered it, and I had told him where to go to get into your world. I had read that if the portal opened up once more, then the digivice would've been found and so would the digidestined child. Now, here you are, and you have unlocked the Crest of Life, right when Darkness has started to appear in the Digital World."

My head was buzzing, trying to take in all this heavy information. _"A prophecy? About me? There's no way…"_ I looked down at the crest; it was safely locked behind the…

"Tag," Gennai said, "it's called a Tag. Tags carry the crests of the digidestined children and let their power become unlocked."

I nodded; I understood everything that had been said. "But what is this evil?" I asked, looking to Guilmon with a twinge of fear.

"I do not know," Gennai said, "the Darkness has only shown up in evil digimon; it has yet to take a physical form. That's why we now have the upper hand in this battle: the digidestined child has appeared before the Darkness has taken form."

That's when a hideous thought came to my mind. _"The night terrors…"_

"Gennai," I said slowly, "when did the darkness appear first?"

The small man looked up in thought, his fingers flipping up as he counted the time. "Two weeks ago," he replied, satisfied with his math work.

My stomach sunk down, and it was evident with my facial expression. "And you said that the Darkness was very close to the digidestined child?"

Gennai nodded. "Why, did you have someone in mind?"

I looked at Guilmon again, and he noticed the fear in my eyes. Slowly, I nodded my head. "…I think…" I was very hesitant to say this. "I think that… that the Darkness is coming… coming from me."

As much as this had bothered me, Gennai didn't seem to be perturbed. "And why would you think this?" he asked.

It surprised me at how serious he was about this. I had never encountered an adult who took the words of kids so seriously. "Well… when I came to the Digiworld… fourteen days ago… I started to have terrible nightmares. Now, I've heard of nightmares before, and had many of my own in my own world, but none had been this… dark. I… I can't put it into words, but I've never been so scared or bothered by nightmares before…" I tried to continue, but the words didn't want to come out.

Guilmon took initiative and spoke for me. "He was in a lot of pain," he said. "He would wake up early in the morning, burning up worse than being in the desert. And at night, he would scream and cry. Just before we came into the desert, he was drowning in his nightmare… and he actually stopped breathing. I was just waking up to the sounds of his coughing when I noticed. His heart stopped for a few seconds before he woke up, crying and coughing as if he had actually been drowning."

Gennai nodded at this, still taking us seriously. "Well then, that's a very strong possibility," he said. "If the Darkness is _truly_ within you, then there is only one way to destroy it…" He looked up at me with a grim expression. "…You must cast it into the Gates of Fire."

Guilmon and I ate like kings that night. Gennai had brought us to a small kitchen, and there were already many amazing meals that I had never seen before. It all looked like something out of a five-star oriental restaurant, and it tasted even better. We both ate and drank until we couldn't anymore, and then Gennai brought us into a lounge of some sort.

There he told me (Guilmon had already been told) what had happened after I passed out in the desert.

We had only been about seventy metres away from the temple, which made me feel terrible. But, there were many sentry points to the temple, and we just happened to be right next to one. It had only taken about a minute before Gennai knew where we were and brought us in. Then, he had healed us, but in my case, I had needed to let my body regenerate before I could wake up again.

I scolded myself again for not having had the strength to go farther; if I had lasted another ten minutes, I would've made it. Then, I wouldn't have been unconscious for three days and Guilmon might've got better much faster. Both our lives had been in my hands, and I wasn't strong enough to save them.

I told Gennai about the dream I had had whilst unconscious. He didn't seem to think it was a dream, though; when I had been unconscious, I didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't twitch. He said I was in a state of rest where my mind could've wandered off and no one would know.

"I think that your mind might've actually been living in that alternate universe," he said sombrely, "to a world where digimon hadn't come. It seems like a test, one that your consciousness made up for you. One that you passed.

I smiled at the compliment, and Guilmon leaned onto my shoulder. When I looked down at him, his eyes were closed in fatigue, and he was sprawled out comfortably on the couch we were sitting on.

Gennai looked at me with a smile on his face. "It's only been two weeks and you've already proven yourself as a digidestined," he said. "The other digidestined would've been proud." With that, he stood up and left, closing the door behind us.

With a sigh of tranquillity, I lay down on the couch with Guilmon sliding down, still on my shoulder. _"I never thought that I'd find a friend like this,"_ I thought, glimpsing Guilmon's contented expression. _"This is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, coming to the Digital World. Finally, an adventure to prove my worth in life."_ Guilmon shifted his shoulders around, one arm dropping down onto my chest. _"I'll never leave this world. Not even if my life depended on it."_

When morning came, I jumped out of sleep. There had been no night terrors at all, or dreams of any sort for that matter. My eyes were droopy, though, and I felt like I had only slept for an hour or so. I was still on the couch, but somehow at a different part of it while Guilmon was still in the same place. _"Oh well… maybe I was rolling in my sleep." _It had happened before, so it was impossible.

I heard Guilmon wake up, but I was trying to fall asleep again. He came over and pushed at my arm. "Wake up, Ian-mon," he said quietly. "It's morning."

"I'm awake," I said, finding that my voice was hoarse. I rolled onto my back, groaning in fatigue as I did so. "Did you sleep well on this couch?"

He nodded, but I could barely see it my eyelids were so heavy. "It was way better than sleeping outside all the time," he said, taking my arm and pulling me into a sitting position.

"Maybe it's just me, then," I said, standing up. "Do we know where Gennai is?"

Guilmon looked around, as if expecting to see him in the room. "He's probably back in the room with the writing on the walls," he said, walking to the door. I followed him, stumbling over my feet as I did so.

"_I really need to get a better night's sleep."_

We found Gennai where Guilmon had thought, although he seemed to be a little stressed out. "What is it?" I asked, looking around the room.

"The darkness has taken a form," he said with severe annoyance. "He has wiped the wall free of the message behind the Crest of Life!" That's when I noticed that the writing where the Crest had been had completely changed. "Instead, it seems that he has rewritten in a more modern form of the script."

"Well, didn't you already read what was there before?" I asked, remembering that he had looked at it.

"Of course I did!" he snapped, "but I only understood a few of the hieroglyphs! I didn't have the chance to decipher them!" He was really mad now, but he quickly realised that he was overreacting in front of us, so he changed his tone. "I'm just quite frustrated about it. From what I did understand of it, it was extremely important, and now the information is in _his_ hands."

"Well, what did it say?" Guilmon asked, looking up at the new text. "And what does this say?"

Gennai sighed, then looked up at the ceiling and the runes that were inscribed upon it. "All I could get out of it was something about the war, casting evil into fire, and then a war much more terrible than we could possible imagine. It also mentioned another digidestined, although the one wielding the Crest of Darkness. I believe that this is the one who rewrote the text here."

"So what _does_ it say?" I asked, looking at the strange figures on the wall.

The small man sighed once more; he had obviously memorised it because he didn't need to look at it to tell us what it read. "Darkness shall conquer over Life, and my reign will be absolute. War between good and evil is upon you, and the Master of Darkness shall lead us to victory. There is no escape."

Silence filled the room.

I didn't dare speak a word, for I had understood what the message read. Guilmon, however, was confused. "Shouldn't it be 'Darkness shall conquer over _Light_?'" he asked.

"It is possible," Gennai answered, "the text was written in a hurry, but I think that he is referring to the two Crests."

"Does that mean the my nightmares aren't the darkness like we thought?" I asked. It bothered me that I didn't have any night terrors the same night that this had happened.

"That depends," Gennai said, "are you still having them?"

"Well, I've had them every night in the Digiworld except last night," I replied, "but I just thought it was coincidence."

"It might be," Gennai mused, "but if you're not having them anymore, then they may very well have found a way to escape and become a solid form."

This was finally becoming confusing. "I don't understand how it got out of me, though," I said, looking worriedly to Guilmon. "How would it happen? Wouldn't I have seen or heard it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know how it happened, Ian," he said grimly, "I just know that we have to be very careful now. If the Darkness is on the loose, we don't have very much time left. We-"

Gennai was cut short by a rumbling that shook the entire temple. It was such a tremendous quake that we were thrown to the floor and stones started to crack. We scrambled back up to our feet and Gennai started to give orders.

"Get to the teleport room!" he shouted, directing these words to Guilmon. "The temple is collapsing!"

"What about you?" I asked in a hurry as another rumble shook the place.

"There is information that I still need to gather," he shouted as Guilmon pulled me out the door. "Don't worry about me, just go!" He disappeared behind the door as Guilmon started to pull harder.

I started running then and Guilmon let go as he took the lead. We flew down the great hall and then turned into another doorway. It was a long hall with several doors on the sides. "It's the door at the end of the hallway!" Guilmon shouted back.

Another rumble and we both flew to the ground. In less than a second we were back up and darting down the corridor and slamming into the doorway. The door crashed open and revealed a room in sheer chaos.

Part of the roof had fallen in and there were beams of light were spiralling around the room. There were three at the farthest side of the room that hadn't been touched and were simply straight lines of light from the ceiling to the floor, but the rest were swinging back in forth or being subdued by some of the rubble that was once the ceiling or the room above.

"Which one do we take?" I asked, looking to Guilmon.

His head was looking back and forth between the beams, but he stopped at the one in the farthest corner of the room; it was one of the three that weren't broken. "That one!" he answered, "it should go to a place near the ocean!"

I nodded, and we started for it. It was a difficult task, since several other beams were moving back and forth between us and the portal, but we were fast. I watched as Guilmon looked back at me, for he had made it to the portal with no trouble.

There was one more rumble and one of the beams cascaded towards me. Both of us cried out in fear, but Guilmon lost his balance and fell into the portal he was standing by and I felt my body start to fade as one of the moving ones landed on me. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as I saw Guilmon start to disappear and he watched me do the same.  
"Guilmon!" I shouted. His mouth started to open in response, but everything went white before I could hear it.

A terrible headache and freezing limbs brought me into an unwelcome wakefulness. I was lying face first in snow, and a wicked blizzard was taking place.

I got to my feet, looking around in fear. There was nothing but snow that I could see, but that wasn't saying much since the snow was so think that I could barely see a few feet ahead of me. The cold was pitiful; every part of my body was numb, and the wind was only making it worse. I couldn't even feel my feet, and now I had to worry about getting frostbite.

"_I haven't got much time here," _I thought in a panic,_ "my body isn't made for the cold, and I don't know how long I'll last like this. It must be below twenty out here!" _While I was looking out into the bleak and desolate landscape, snow started to pile up on me; the snow was incredibly thick! _"We don't even get this much snow in all of the Fraser Valley! What am I going to do?"_

It was beginning to feel like the desert, except its polar opposite. When Guilmon had fainted, I was alone, just like now. I had no idea which direction to go, and even if I did, there would be next to no point in doing so unless I knew which direction was which. I was once again the pathetic child that I hated so much, but there was nothing I could do about it. Alone and scared in an unknown world with nothing even remotely close to help.

"HELP!" I called. I knew that I couldn't cry, because my eyes would probably freeze shut, and then I would be doubly screwed. "ANYONE!"

That's when I started to move forwards. No directional sense in any way; _"I just wish I knew where south was!"_ My footfalls sunk up to just above my knees, and I quickly became soaked. When I looked back to see my tracks, they were already half covered in snow already. _"Great, now no one will be able to even find my tracks! Ian, how do you get yourself into these horrid situations? This must be the most desperate of them all! At least before you had Guilmon. _And_ you weren't talking to yourself either!" _

I cursed and moved faster.

But everything was the same: white. There was snow in front of me, snow behind me, snow to my right and snow to my left. I wanted to cry, but I still kept myself from doing so.

Fear really started to set in, and I started running. Or as close to running as a person can get in practically waist deep snow. I started to sweat, to warm up from all the activity, and there was a shimmer of hope. Maybe I wouldn't freeze to death if I kept up this pace.

I kept this pace for about ten minutes before I started to get tired. Then, it was barely a matter of seconds before I had slowed down to a walk.

"_What time is it?"_ I wondered. _"It must be late, because I'm just so sleepy."_ I remembered, though, that falling asleep in the cold was one of the worst things you could do. Trying to snap myself back into wakefulness, I tried going faster again.

But I could only keep it up for a minute and a bit.

"_How much harm could it do if I stopped for a rest? It wouldn't be long… just a few minutes. That's all I need."_ It made sense to me.

I stopped where I stood and sat down, instantly chilling my body. My heart rate slowed quickly and my breaths became long and exaggerated. Before I knew what was happening, I was lying down in the snow, face first, half-asleep. My vision started to blur and I felt snow start to pile up on me again. _"Oh well, I tried. I just wish I could tell Guilmon what happened. Guilmon would understand, he always does. He-"_

There was nothing left.

I had fallen asleep in arctic conditions.

Alone.

A wolf shaped digimon dashed through the snow, following a scent. It had been toying with him for almost half an hour, but he seemed to be getting closer. His white fur glimmered in comparison to the snow, making the frozen flakes seem grey. He had stumbled upon faint tracks in the snow, and if it weren't for the blizzard, he would've thought that the creator of the tracks was miles away.

But he knew better. If he could even see the tracks with the amount of snow that was pouring down, he had to be close.

All of a sudden, he skidded to a halt. The scent was lost.

He looked down at the ground, but there were no more tracks. Retracing his steps, he found where he could still see the tracks and moved forwards at a much slower pace. The scent was strong here.

After six more steps, the tracks stopped and the scent was gone.

That could only mean one thing.

He took a few steps back and started digging, returning to all fours to do so.

It didn't take long to hit something solid; it was a light brown patch of… he took a second to sniff it – clothing? He scraped away the snow around it and slowly revealed-

"_A human child? What ever is it doing out here?" _He grabbed the child's arm and tugged the rest of it out of the snow. With a quick sniff, he determined that it was identical to the smell, which meant that there were no others. Still, he sniffed delicately at the air around, but found nothing.

The poor creature was almost frozen, and he couldn't seem to tell if it was dead or not. It didn't seem to be, but he didn't know that much about humans – or anything for that matter. _"Still, how often does someone run into a human child in the middle of a blizzard?"_ He decided to bring it back, just in case.

He carried it in his arms, close to his chest, then leapt off in the opposite direction he had come.


	7. Chapter 7

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Seven**

_"Great. Now you've done it, Ian. You've gone and died. Aren't you the selfish one?"_ I was consumed by darkness. Not evil darkness, just lack of any form of light darkness. I could only come up with the one solution, and that was that I had died. _"You just had to fall asleep, didn't you? You knew that falling asleep in the arctic is fatal! What the hell did you have going on in your head? Now, because of your pathetic weakness, the whole Digital World is going to fall into Darkness. Is that what you wanted? Maybe you should've thought of _that_ before you ended up dying. Hmm? You low down, pathetic, weak and useless child! How will Guilmon even know? He's going to hope you're still kicking and try to come and find you! The entire world! Why on earth did you let yourself get hit by the beam? What happened to being the strong one? You sicken me."_

I was furious with myself! Now I was doomed to an eternity of Darkness of hating myself.

_Thump._

"_What was that?"_

_Thump._

"_Is that a heart beat?"_

_Thump._

"_I can't possibly be alive."_

_Thump._

"…_Could I?"_

I felt a surge of energy and I realised that I was still in my body. There was warmth from both sides and I became more conscious of my existence. Nothing seemed to be working; I couldn't move any part of my body, but I was alive.

It must've been an hour of just being inside my body until I started to regain my senses.

I could _hear_ the crackling of a fire. I could _feel_ both solid stone ground and a warm and soft thing beside me. My nose wasn't working, or there wasn't anything to smell; my eyes wouldn't open because I still couldn't move anything, and my mouth was void of taste.

Hours passed of just listening and being aware of the feel.

Once, there was a shift from the soft wall, and I realised that whatever it was, it was alive. That meant that it was a digimon… but whether it was good or evil would have to wait.

Finally, I could feel myself breathing. Air slowly filled my lungs and my chest raised an inch or so before letting it go. The air whooshed in and out of my nose, since my mouth was obviously still unusable.

The digimon, whatever it was, seemed to notice this. It shifted around and my head tilted until it was facing upwards. My body seemed to have been curled up a bit on my side. "Are you alive?" it asked. The voice was deep; the digimon was big, and male.

A finger, a furry finger, touched at my neck, checking for a pulse. My mind froze when I felt a cold, sharp claw at the end of the finger touching my neck lightly. _"Yes! I'm alive!"_

He completely shifted and I could feel a presence over my head, or more specifically, over my nose. He was checking if I was breathing!

I tried to breathe a little harder, but I couldn't do anything. I just… lived.

After several minutes, the digimon returned to his previous place, beside me. I wanted to know what this digimon was, whether it was good or not (although he must've been for having saved me) and where in the Digital World we were.

Fatigue started to take over and I soon found myself falling asleep.

I woke with a start. I still couldn't open my eyes, but I could tell that something had changed. I was more aware of myself… and aware that it had become cooler. There was no digimon beside me, and the fire that I had heard previously seemed to be very far away or very low.

Slowly, I tested body parts. Toes… nothing. Legs… nothing. Arms… nothing. Fingers… wait, fingers? My fingers twitched a little. Not much, and only my first two on my left hand, but they were moving. And I was breathing through my mouth.

A smile tried to form at my mouth, but it merely twitched a little. I was gradually gaining control over my body once again. Every minute or so I tried a little harder to move something… anything. Soon, I was moving all but my smallest finger on my left hand, and I started to get some twitches from my right.

"_Great. At this rate I'll be moving in a few days now…" _The sarcasm was thick in my thoughts, but I couldn't help being a bit pleased.

But where was the digimon?

A few minutes wait answered my question. I heard footsteps – only two feet – enter the area. There was a pause, then the steps started again, stopping a few feet away from me. Then, the digimon seemed to drop a pile of stuff to the floor, my guess was wood.

This proved to be right, as the crackling of the fire soon started to build up and the heat from it filled the room. The heat, however, soon became a bit too much, and I felt that the fire had moved a bit too close to me. I couldn't really move away from the fire, but a slight groan escaped my lips.

There was another pause before the footsteps moved quickly beside me. The presence moved over me again, and my hands twitched a little. "Are you awake?" the digimon asked.

I made a bit more sound, more of a croak, in response. My lips started to move a bit, trying to form a word, and I surprised myself by uttering, "…fire."

"What about the fire?" he asked. "Is it too weak? Too warm?"

I heaved a great breath; this talking thing was more work that I gave it credit for. "Warm," I said firmly.

"Too warm?" he verified. A slight nod of my head was enough to slide me carefully back a foot or so.

I sighed in relief; this was the perfect temperature. There was a long wait before I gathered not only the strength, but also the guts to start talking. "Who are you?" I asked, my tongue stumbling over the words. My eyes still wouldn't open, and I was severely frustrated with them.

The digimon took a second, then moved back down beside me; I could feel the soft fur on my fingers. "My name is Wolfemon," he said. "Who're you? And what were you doing in the middle of a blizzard?"

I took a deep breath, trying to stumble as little as possible. "My name's Ian," I said listlessly. "It was… a teleporter… broken… and Guilmon… fell through the other…"

"So you appeared there out of nowhere then?" he asked.

A smile formed at my lips. I nodded in reply.

Suddenly, I could see light burning through my eyelids. I tried to open them, and although I could feel them for the first time, they still wouldn't open.

"You should sleep," Wolfemon said.

That was all I needed before I found myself out cold once more.

My eyes snapped open; everything was blurry. There was obviously a fire next to me, that much I could tell from both seeing and feeling, but the rest of the room seemed to be a blur. With a groan, I tried to sit up, but my muscles were unbelievably stiff. Wolfemon didn't seem to be anywhere around; but then again, he might blend in well enough for me to not see him.

The walls curved up into a ceiling about seven feet above me; it was a very earthy coloured room and could be nothing but a cave. The stone on the floor had been trampled enough to the point where it had become smooth, however, the dips and rises in it were evidence enough to show that it was a natural structure. The walls, though, were pretty rough, and when they reached the ceiling, it was enough blur for me to tell that it was jagged.

"Well, everything seems to be working. Except my eyes of course, but I didn't expect them to work right away. An hour or so should be enough for them to work again." I ignored the popping of bones and screaming of muscles and pulled myself upright into a sitting position. Then, I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly to stretch both my legs and my arms before pushing them all out as far as I could. The result was a loud array of cracking and popping, but I felt much better than I had before. I tilted my head to either side, finding yet another course of cracking. 

When I was done, I rolled onto my side with my back to the fire. There was nothing to do but wait, now.

I didn't need to for long, though. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes after waking that I heard the crunching of snow a ways off. There was a pause, and then the footsteps started on into the cave. I rolled back up and looked for the source of the sound. Because of the blur, I couldn't really tell where the entrance to this cave was, so I relied on my ears.

A tall and sparkling white digimon walked in, stooped over because he was so tall. He could apparently walk on his hind legs, but once he was in the cave, he went down on all fours. It was then that I could tell he was a wolf, like his name suggested; he had a long, bushy tail, and the only thing that made him really look much different than a regular wolf (besides his size) was that he was wearing a pair of jean shorts.

"So," he said calmly, stopping at the opposite side of the fire. "You're up. Do you feel alright?"

I nodded. I was a little afraid, but only because he was a wolf. "Thank-you for finding me," I said timidly. My voice had returned to normal, which lifted my spirits a little. "I would've been a goner if you hadn't rescued me."

He shook his head. "Nonsense," he said, sitting down cross-legged. "It was the right thing to do. Besides, any digimon out here would've done the same if they knew that you were a human child. Now, what were you doing out there? You didn't make much sense before."

I sighed, a pang of worry striking me because I didn't know what had become of Guilmon. "I don't know if you know Gennai," I started, "but when Guilmon brought me to the Digital World, he brought me to a man named Gennai in a temple in the middle of a desert. When I got the Crest of Life," I stopped to lift it up and show him, "and we passed the night there, the temple started to collapse. Guilmon and I made it to the teleport room, but it was in such disarray that a stray beam hit me and transported me here. Guilmon fell into another one that was supposed to take him to the ocean, but I have no idea where that is." I leaned down and looked into the fire; my vision still wasn't that great, but the edges of things were getting sharper. "I'm really worried about him; he doesn't know where I am or if I'm even still alive."

Wolfemon was quiet; he knew that I needed some peace to keep my thoughts stable. After a minute, though, he spoke. "Well," he said, "I know the desert that you speak of, but that is thousands of miles away. And there are two oceans anywhere close to nearby, but it's more likely that you'll find him at the Southern Ocean. That, though, is almost at the other side of this continent." He gave me a minute to let the information sink in.

Hopelessness coursed through my body, and I felt like I was on the verge of tears once again. I was also confused, because there was just no way for me to comprehend just how impossible it was to get back to him. "But…" I started; my voice was shaky with sadness. "There must be a way… there _has_ to be a way! I can't make that distance! The Darkness will have control of the Digital World by then!" I looked around frantically, trying to find anything that might help me. "No!" I cried, "Guilmon and I were just back together!" My breathing started to get faster, and I tried to calm down to avoid hyperventilating.

"Calm yourself," Wolfemon said. He got up and padded over beside me. "There might be a way for you to get back, and it would only take a few days."

I looked up to him; my eyes must've been glazed in tears. "How?" I asked. "I'll do anything!"

"You could take the Trainmon back," he said quietly.

I was watching him carefully, and he seemed to be a little fidgety about it. It was then that I realised my vision was becoming sharper. "What's a Trainmon?" I asked. I recognised the name as a digimon, but I didn't know why that might not work.

He looked away when he spoke again. "The only Trainmon up here… he's kind of a dark digimon. Sometimes he'll take you where you want to go, but sometimes…" He stopped completely as he said this.

"Sometimes what?" I asked.

"…Sometimes people who get onto the Trainmon," he looked down at me now, "… they disappear."

"Well, does anyone know where they go?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It's not very often, but every couple of months, someone gets onto the Trainmon… and they're never seen again. No one knows what happens to them, and Trainmon has never told a single person what becomes of them."

I thought about it for a minute. The odds weren't too bad, but it was the chance of disappearing at all that made me hesitate. "Are there any other ways to get there?"

Wolfemon sighed. "Your other option is to walk."

"I'll take the Trainmon, then!" I said strongly, standing up. This proved to be a bad idea, as my muscles still weren't healed yet, and my head couldn't take the head rush. My vision darkened, and I swayed violently before sitting back down on the floor.

Wolfemon sighed. "I won't stop you," he said, "but I can't let you go out there yet, nor on your own when the time comes. You are far too weak right now, and the station is too far for you to make it even if you were at full strength. Human bodies just don't seem to be very strong in the cold."

"_You hear that?"_ I asked myself, _"you _are_ weak. Now you know it, so don't go wandering off on your own anymore! Keep Guilmon close; keep the good digimon close."_ I leaned back on Wolfemon as my head continued spinning. "Thank-you again for saving me," I said, "there's a lot of responsibility on my shoulders now, and with Guilmon so far away, I'll need all the help I can get."

Wolfemon didn't seem used to having this kind of praise; he seemed at a loss for words and he merely lay his head on the ground between his paws. "You said there's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders," he said, "does that mean that you're one of the digidestined?"

I nodded, my head slumping to my shoulder. "I just found this out before I appeared here. A man called Gennai told me all about it, and he also showed me to the Crest of Life."

"But I thought that the digidestined children only came to the Digiworld when it was in great danger," he said, his head tilting so he could see me. "Does that mean there's danger growing here?"

My logic told me to say yes, but my courteousness told me to say no. "I can't say for sure," I fibbed. Well, it was merely an over-exaggeration. "There was definitely something going on in the desert temple. I don't entirely understand all of this yet, so I'm afraid there isn't much for me to explain."

"I understand," he said, nodding. At that, we both grew silent, as did the cave.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what had happened to Guilmon. A beach couldn't be that bad, could it? Images of sea monsters and sand monsters flitted through my head, and I quickly dismissed the thought. Were there any completely safe places in this world? Or was it just constantly living by the food chain? Whatever the case, I couldn't think on it much more because I just didn't have the sufficient facts or ideas that might lead me to another conclusion. A scary thought skittered through my mind then, and my eyes shot open in fear. _"What if Guilmon is already coming to find me? What if by the time I get to the beach, he's already halfway back across the Digital World?" _I quickly pulled out my digivice and looked into it. There was no little red dot on it, but I assumed that that was because of the distance between us. If he did get within a few miles of me, though, I knew that he would show up. I just prayed that I would be looking at it when he did.

"What troubles you, digidestined?" Wolfemon asked quietly.

With a sigh, I replied, "I'm just worried about Guilmon. I don't know how we're ever going to meet up again if somehow we cross each other going in the opposite direction. It's not like the Digital World is small or anything…"

"Don't worry," he said with a small smile. "Guilmon is your partner digimon. I'm sure he's smart enough to stay put if you know where he is. What would you do if it was the other way around?"

Nodding, I said, "yeah. I would probably do the same too."

Two days passed before I could move normally again. I never strayed from the cave, especially since the only thing out there for me was snow, and Wolfemon would bring food to me. To my surprise, the main portion of meals up here consisted of plant roots and fish. There was a river nearby that froze over frequently (there were warm streaks from the source that would melt it regularly) and the fish never seemed to stop coming down.

At one time, I had asked Wolfemon why he was alone up here in the snow, but it had only taken me a quick second to find that this was a bad subject to tread on. He seemed happy enough when I was around, and I decided to not press the subject again.

At other times, he would tell me about the Digiworld; the history, the digimon that lived here now, and he even told me the legacy of four sets of heroes that had come to the Digital World before. The first set had had eight digidestined, the second with not only the first eight, but also four new ones, the third having three, and the fourth having six. I was the first to be here on my own, and whatever was going to happen would be all up to me. It was a lot of pressure for one kid to handle, but I knew that I would be able to.

One time, I had asked why only children had been able to come to the Digital World, and the response had been that children were the purest of heart. They would accept things for what they were, not for their own opinions. This sounded like a great idea to me; personally I didn't believe adults would be able to handle this kind of situation no matter how strong they were or how smart they were.

When the day came that I was able to move regularly again, Wolfemon had a talk with me. He sat me down on one side of the fire while he sat on the opposite.

"Ian," he said, "I just want to tell you again the risks of using the Trainmon. Everything seems nice when you get in, and most of the time it is, but I need to know that you're willing to take the chance that you might never get off the Trainmon if you do this. Are you sure you're willing to risk the fate of the world and Guilmon to a Trainmon ride?" He sounded harsh by saying this, but I knew that he was laying out the bare facts for me.

I looked up at him and nodded. "There's not a doubt in my mind about taking this voyage. And, even if something does happen, I will make sure that I'm the first one to get off the Trainmon after disappearing on it." I smiled widely as I finished; I meant that with every fibre of my being.

He sighed; I could tell that he didn't want it to be his fault that the Digital World was destroyed for letting me onto the Trainmon. "If you feel that strongly about it, then there's nothing holding me back from helping you." He stood up, waiting for me to do the same. When I did stand up, he walked around the fire and scooped me up into his arms.

This was a little strange for me, but I assumed that this wasn't the first time he had done it. There was really no other way, but it still didn't quell my feelings. As he stepped out of the cave, the cold hit me in a blast, chilling me to the bone almost instantly.

That's when Wolfemon covered his arms over me, leaving only my shoulders and a bit of my feet exposed. I felt like a child once again, but there was nothing else I could do. _"For Guilmon,"_ I thought.

It was windy out, but it wasn't snowing very hard; if only wind chill wasn't as bad as the snow. Wolfemon had certainly been right, though; if I didn't have his help, I wouldn't have lasted an hour out here.

I could feel each of his footsteps, and I could tell that each step was sinking at least up to his knee in snow. My mind wished desperately that I could do something to help, or at least not be such a burden to such a nice digimon. From what I could tell, there weren't as many good digimon as there were bad digimon, and I must've just been lucky to run into both Wolfemon and Gabumon. _"Well, if it gets me back where I belong before the Darkness sets in… then maybe this will all turn out for the better."_

An hour slipped away, and I could hear Wolfemon's breathing get prolonged; he obviously wasn't used to carrying around a human child in bad weather, contrary to the look of his physical build. Each step was noticeably longer than the last, and it was starting to feel like the desert with Guilmon. This time, though, I asked.

"Wolfemon," I asked timidly.

He stopped for a moment and uncovered my face.

"Are you all right? Do you need to rest? I don't want you to collapse because of me." I really, really, didn't want to try to carry this digimon the rest of the way to the Trainmon. Guilmon was quite big as he was, but Wolfemon was much, much bigger than I and even with the experience of carrying Guilmon, there was no way that I would be able to move him very far.

His mouth was slightly ajar, his tongue hanging out like a dog's. "I'm just a little tired," he replied, "but we're nearly at the Trainmon station. I can rest there."

I nodded, my eyes focused on his so that he wouldn't try to lie. He sounded genuine, though, so I believed him wholeheartedly.

He covered me back up and we continued forwards.

Maybe twenty minutes later, we were no longer walking in snow, but on solid ground. The wind was still fierce, but it wasn't any worse than it had been since we left. Then, before I knew what was happening, there was a slight halt in his pace, a creaking noise, and then it was silent.

Wolfemon opened his arms and set me onto the concrete floor of the train station we were now standing in. It was tiny, a small room with a set of doors behind us, and a set in front of us looking out into the snowy plains. It was cold and grey in the room, but it was much less cold without the wind. Beside the door was a small, framed list of the train schedule. I quickly scanned over it before I realised that I didn't know what day it was, nor did I know the time. "Does this do anything for you?" I asked Wolfemon.

He took a quick look at it, hunching down a long way so that he could be eye level with it. Then he pointed a claw to a certain train departure and said, "that's the soonest one. It's in about seven hours, so it'll be a bit of a wait."

I nodded in comprehension.

"The best choice is probably sleep," he continued, slumping down to the floor underneath the train times. "It'll rejuvenate us both, and pass the time quickly."

I eased myself down to the cold floor, curling up next to him. "Thank-you for all your help," I said quietly. "Without you, there'd be no hope in getting back to Guilmon, and I would probably be dead."

He gently placed an arm over me, keeping me warm. "It's not everyday that you get to save a digidestined," he said. "I'm just glad that I got to meet one of you before everything starts happening. Besides, it was the right thing to do."

With a smile, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

I woke up in a cold sweat, doing my best not to scream. Guilmon hadn't been there to save me this time, and the darkness had almost completely consumed me. Wolfemon was awake, still laying down, but watching me intently. I looked around wildly, searching for nothing, shivering as I did so.

"Are you alright?" Wolfemon asked, putting a giant hand on my shoulder.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," I panted, trying to brush off the worry. "Just a nightmare."

"Do you always stop breathing in your nightmares?" he pressed, his voice becoming more serious.

My mind grated to a halt. _"Again? I thought that if the evil had been gone, that I wouldn't need to worry about that kind of attack anymore." _I shook my head, which wasn't a lie, it just had happened quite recently.

"Well, a cold sweat is not good in this temperature," he said in disbelief, pulling me to his side. "You could catch hypothermia in a heartbeat."

Changing the topic as quickly as I could, I asked, "did you get enough rest?"

"I did, thank-you," he replied, realising my efforts, "I only woke up a few minutes ago when your arms were twitching around. The Trainmon should be here quite soon now."

This proved to be true, for in a few minutes, we both heard a distant train whistle. Standing up, we went to the doors to see a set of flashing red lights on the overhang outside. The wind had stopped, and there was no more snow falling, so it looked like it would be a decent train ride.

"Well," Wolfemon said, placing both hands on my shoulders as I stood in front of him, "it's been great getting to know you, Ian. I'm glad that I met you."

"Thanks again for finding me in the snow," I said, accompanied by another train whistle. "And for getting me here. I'd be under twelve feet of snow as a popsicle by now if it weren't for you. I'm also glad that I got to meet you, Wolfemon." I stepped forwards and hugged him; this made me feel really short since my head only came up to the middle of his chest. In my world, I was almost always taller than everyone, and I would stick out like a sore thumb, so feeling short wasn't a very common feeling for me.

He patted me on the back as the Trainmon came into view from behind a snowdrift. "I hope that you make it back to Guilmon safely," he said carefully.

With a nod I added, "I will. Don't worry. We'll meet again someday; I'll bring Guilmon for a visit."

He smiled, something that I had only seen him do once before.

We were silent as the long, black train rolled into the station, waiting until it came to a complete stop before moving. I opened the doors and let in the frosty air, and Wolfemon followed me to the train. When the doors slid open silently, I turned back to him and found myself in another hug.

"Be safe," he whispered into my ear before letting me go.

"Thank-you again," I said, stepping into the train. I had time for one quick wave before the doors slid shut, encasing me in the heated compartment of the train.

A deep voice resonated through the entire train. "All aboard," it said deeply. "Next stop: Southern Populous Beach. Forty-nine hours and thirty minutes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Eight**

_"Well, here I am again: alone. This just seems typical of me now in this world; why can't I ever keep someone with me? Guilmon, Gabumon, Wolfemon… they've all been so good to me, and I just keep ending up on my own. If I get back to – no, not 'if,' _when_ I get back to Guilmon, I'm making sure that we don't get separated again."_

I looked up around me again. I was sitting in a small, dark compartment of the Trainmon on a somewhat lumpy seat. There was a window, but it was tinted so much that it wasn't much use anyway. It was definitely still snowing, or at least snowy outside, because the windows were as cold as ice, but that made it all the more comfortable in the compartment.

Unfortunately, there was nothing really to do on the Trainmon; there was no trolley service, no vending machines that I had found, or anything that resembled reading material or hobbies of any sort. It was quite a depressing train, but still, the thought of finally returning to Guilmon made me happier.

It was nearly a fifty-hour train ride, and I didn't know how I would get sustenance during it. I knew that I would need water, but I could do without food again. I had tested my limits before, and this time I wouldn't be moving around that much. Nor would I be carrying Guilmon on my back for a large portion of it.

I suppose that ten hours might've passed when I started to get really thirsty. I didn't want to go to sleep, especially since I knew that it would only bring the night terrors around, so there wasn't really much to pass the time with. I had poked around on my digivice, but there was nothing but a blank screen on it.

Without any other option, I stood up and slid the compartment door open and stepped out into the hallway. Both directions were almost identical; they were both long, dark, and had many, many compartment doors on them. I couldn't see too far down them, but they didn't look like they would be any different if I walked down them. Sighing, I left the door open and wandered down the hall, taking the right to see if I could go all the way to the front.

As I walked, I counted the doors, shuddering from the intense silence of the train. The only noise was the occasional rattle of one of the cars upon going over a bump on the tracks. The whole place was quite eerie because of it.

I felt like I was living in a horror movie, like at any second I would turn around and find some hellish monster standing behind me, teeth bared and claws dripping with blood or something gory along those lines. A shiver ran down my spine and I stopped to look around. I had just passed another door, but when I pulled it open, the room was empty. _"Weird,"_ I thought, closing the door and continuing walking.

When I made it to one hundred and seventy, I started to get worried that I was going to find myself lost on a train. Besides that, I was a little bothered by walking around in this creepy horror-like train. "I wish I had Guilmon here," I said aloud. "Or anyone, for that matter. The whole train seems empty…"

The rough, carpeted floor was uncomfortable on my bare feet, and I was almost thinking on turning back.

Finally, after about forty more doors, I started to pick up my pace. I started to jog a little bit, and after thirty doors went by, I was suddenly in a full scale run. Doors flew by me and I was almost losing count. I went by twos, and slowly went into fours, but I didn't last long before I started to lose my breath. When I was at five hundred and something, I stopped running and slowed my pace to a prolonged walk.

Then, I saw a door that was slid open, and I quickly came up to it. But, when I looked in, I immediately recognised it as the room that I had been waiting in. There was even a dent in the seat where I had been sitting! "What is going on here?" I demanded to myself. _"Trainmon, Trainmon…does that mean that this is a digimon? It has the same termination… Can I talk to it?"_

The thought lingered for a moment in my mind as I stood outside my own compartment. Finally, I gave into my curiosity.

"Trainmon?" I asked aloud.

There was a long pause. I was about to give up and sit down but the train actually started to talk back. "What do you need, young digidestined?"

It took me a minute to register what was going on, but I quickly brought myself back to the reality. "Um, I'd like to know how long it will take to get to our destination."

There was another long pause and I almost started to think I had imagined the voice. "That all depends on how long it takes you to get here," it replied. The voice was echoing, loud, and deep.

My eyebrow shot upwards towards my hairline. "What?" I asked. "I'm already _here_, I want to be _there_… what do you mean?"

"You must be fully in this world before you can _really_ get somewhere," it said. "It's plain to see that you are not fully here, and you will never get anywhere until you are."

I froze as a loud rattle ran through the train, and the light at the farthest point of my vision faded. My other eyebrow quickly became level with the first. It just didn't make sense. "I thought that I was in this world," I said, feeling really awkward carrying a conversation with a train. "Didn't I come here when I appeared in the Digital World?" This train was quite educated.

"You body made its way here, that is true," the Trainmon said, "but you seem to still be lingering upon a life that isn't." Another rattle came and the light started to fade away even more. "Uncertainty emanates through you, and it seems that you're not sure of where you want to be."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "I love the Digital World more than anywhere I've ever been, and I really enjoy having friends like Guilmon here!" There couldn't have been a way for me to want my home world. With another rattle, a few more lights went out until I could only see about five metres ahead. When I looked back, it was the same case.

"When you move into a new world, you have only managed to try and change people around you. You are in this world, and it is you that need to be changing. You must adapt to the world that you are in, otherwise you'll never really be here. You'll always be a little bit in your world, trying to make people be like people there."

I grimaced, realising that it was right. I had been trying to make Guilmon be more like a human, when that just wasn't what he was. He is a digimon, and there was no way that he could change. I, on the other hand, am a human, and capable of adapting to my surroundings. "Well what can I do about it?" I asked.

The lights flickered more, and there was only a step ahead and behind me. "You must break off from your home," it said, "or go back. Otherwise, you will only be in darkness for the rest of time."

I could watch as the light on the floor was creeping back from the darkness, and I stepped into my compartment to avoid it. With a burst of fear, I slammed the door shut and stared. "How do I break off from it?" I asked frantically, the shadows scaring me almost as much as my night terrors.

"That is up to you to figure out, digidestined," it replied as the whole wall seemed to flicker away.

I backed up until I couldn't go any further; my back was pressed up against the wall as the room started to disappear. "I don't want the darkness to get me!" I cried. "I don't want to be alone!"

My words were cut short as the whole room disappeared, and I was consumed in darkness.

Strange voices wafted around me. My arms were spread out and my feet were side by side.

I blinked, bringing a whole world into focus. I was standing in the middle of a sewing room with my white shirt and my kilt on. I recognised the place as Wings Tailor's, and I was being measured.

"_This is my world,"_ I thought slowly. _"This is where I was supposed to go if I didn't meet Guilmon. Why am I here? Is this the part of me that Trainmon was talking about?"_

"How does it feel?" the man asked. My mother was watching intently with another woman absentmindedly talking to the tailor.

I realised that I was wearing the jacket that I was being fitted for; it was just the basic outline of it, but it was still the same idea. "It's a little tight around my armpits," I said distractedly.

He fiddled around and drew a line on the fabric with pencil. "There?" he asked.

I nodded my head, trying to figure out how I had got here. _"Is this where the darkness is?"_ I was very confused about this situation.

My mother made pathetic small talk with the woman and the tailor, but I was completely out of it. The tailor was picking around, pulling at parts that he thought might've been too tight or too loose, and I stood in indifference as he moved my arms and then moved them back. I let out a deep sigh and widened my eyes, then when the tailor was making his notes, I yawned widely.

"_Maybe Trainmon just sent be back to my own world," _I thought. _"I guess I was the unlucky one that Wolfemon was fearing…"_ I snorted a laugh. _"Just my luck. I suppose that because I was the one that _needed_ to get back that I just had to be the unlucky one. I wonder how I'm supposed to get back there?"_ My mind moved around sluggishly like I wasn't entirely there. _"Maybe my consciousness has been sent to my world, to the part of me that 'wanted' to be here."_

I looked around. The tailor was telling me to go and change because we were done. Why was that so hard to catch? Everything seemed to be moving so fast, but my brain just wasn't processing it fast enough. His talking would seem fast, but I could register it, but then when I got confused, it sort of skipped forwards. I nodded slowly, then walked down the hall to the bathroom.

There were my clothes on the floor; they were the same clothes that I was wearing when I went to the Digital World. I slid out of my kilt and kilt shirt and replaced them with the clothes from the floor. They felt different, though. They were scratchy and stiff, like they were brand new and unwashed. With a shudder, I folded my kilt and hung both it and the other shirt on the hangers that were waiting for me on the hook. _"This feels so strange… can this be real? I wish I knew where I was going."_

In a few minutes, I was sitting in the mother figure's vehicle, driving down through downtown Vancouver. The ground and buildings around us seemed to melt by like a dream; I could hardly register what I was seeing before they were several hundred metres away. My memories from this world were slowly coming back to me, but I could hardly remember that we were even in Vancouver, let alone that we lived in Chilliwack an hour and a half away.

I didn't dare speak; there was no chance that my mouth would be able to keep up with my thoughts, and they were slow enough as it was. Because of this slowness, the Port Mann Bridge seemed to appear in about ten minutes. I looked out the window as we went by, trying to see if Seadramon and Birdramon were there, but nothing disturbed the mighty Fraser's surface anymore than the flow did. My heart fell in disappointment, but things skipped forwards again and we were on the opposite side returning to the regular ground. I slumped back down into my seat, shifting uncomfortably in the leather seat. I was used to sitting on _real_ ground or logs or anything, not this uncomfortable chair.

Then my eyes started to close as I realised how tired I was. The man on the radio murmured on and I couldn't seem to catch a single word of it. Where were we going again? _"I shouldn't ask… I should know this. What's going on?"_

My eyes snapped open and I realised that I had been half-asleep. We were in downtown Chilliwack now… but how had we gone so far in such little time? Whatever the case, the car was stopped now, and I blinked to get the sight that had appeared before me.

This was definitely my house, but there was a strange feeling coming from it. I shook my head, stepping out of the car. _"I shouldn't go in there. My stomach knows better." _My head turned and I saw the trees standing around in the front yard. "Mom," I started, "I'm just going to go and take a walk outside. I'll be quick."

She nodded, but it came out as a blur to me. I closed the door and paced out to the yard, stumbling over my feet. When I reached the grass, I pulled off my shoes and socks, realising how uncomfortable they were. The soft grass felt cool on my feet, and I was starting to catch up with time. I continued forwards, making my way across the yard to the opposite end. When I reached the hill, I sat down on it with my feet at the highest point and my head near the bottom. The sky was grey and depressing, and I was having difficulty staying awake.

I started, my eyes jumping open, to a strong vibration at my leg. When I looked down, I saw that my cell phone was flashing and vibrating like mad. The sky was much darker, and I guessed that I had fallen asleep. Bringing the phone to my ear, I flipped it open and said, "hello?"

"Ian," my twin said gruffly, "dinner."

" 'Kay," I replied in fatigue. I rolled up to my feet and walked back up to the house. I got in and found that my family was waiting at the table with plates of stir-fry in front of them.

I sat down after putting my shoes at the door, and ignored the comments that came my way about how late I was. As I picked up the chopsticks, I noticed that the rest of my family was already halfway done their dinners. _"But we just started, didn't we?"_

"…And don't forget, Ian," the mother figure said, "we're going to the tailor's tomorrow."

I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we just get back from there?" I asked.

Now it was her turn to raise the eyebrow. "We went at the beginning of the week," she said in confusion, "but we need to go for a final look at the jacket. It's exciting; it's nearly ready to be put together."

With a sigh, I pulled a clump of noodles to my mouth, but the rest of the table was now vacant and sounds of washing dishes filled the room. As I chewed, I looked over to see the father figure washing dishes and notice that the TV was on.

"_This doesn't make any sense," _I thought. I Stood up with my plate and walked to the counter, but when I got there, there wasn't anyone there. They were all in the TV room watching some show.

By the time I had put my plate in the fridge, though, I was alone on the floor. The lights were off, and I was still standing in the kitchen.

Tears formed at my eyes from the extreme confusion created out of this. I ran to the door, unlocking it, and stumbled outside. There was a soft rain pouring down from the sky and I embraced it gratefully. Finally, something natural. It wasn't going too fast, nor too slow. I jumped out to the grass, my feet squelching in the mud that was forming, and I flung myself to the ground.

Tears still rolled from my eyes, but they weren't noticeable because of the rain. "I can't stand it here!" I cried to the heavens. "It just doesn't make sense! I belong in the Digital World! I understand that now; this world is too strange for me, and I really, really hate it."

I paused, as if waiting for something to happen.

More sadness welled up inside of me, and I screamed. "GUILMON!"

The Trainmon came to a screeching halt, tossing me forwards to the side of my compartment. "Now arriving at Southern Populous Beach," the deep voice said. "Please make sure that you have all your belongings before leaving the train. Thank-you, and have a nice day."

I snapped into reality.

"I'm back!" I cried, leaping for joy. In seconds, I was in the hallway, dashing for the nearest door, and I flung myself out of it to be blanketed in a strong, balmy sunlight. I could hear the crashing of waves, and smell the sea nearby. There were many digimon around in all shapes and sizes, along with many small buildings.

With a memory flash, I whipped out my digivice and looked on the screen. A yelp of joy exploded from my mouth as I saw a strong, red dot only a short ways away on it. I pointed it forwards and matched myself up with it. Then, I took a quick glance behind me to see the Trainmon away.

It was gone.

"_Oh well," _I thought, shrugging it off, _"I need to find Guilmon."_ I ran forwards, my feet burning from the hot, stone grounds, and found that I was going towards the ocean. I couldn't see it, but I could tell that that's where it was because there were no mountains around.

Smaller digimon kept out of my way, but I had to move around the particularly larger digimon. I made sure, though, that I didn't run into anyone. Even though they were acting like people in a city, they were still powerful creatures that could easily destroy me if they wanted to.

After slipping through an alley between two shops, I found myself on a beach with a magnificent view of the ocean ahead of me. It stretched out and out until I couldn't see any further and I knew that it was much bigger than the desert that Guilmon and I had already gone through.

"Ian-mon!"

My eyes fell down a bit and I saw Guilmon farther away, dashing towards me. My heart leapt with joy and I ran down onto the beach, stuffing my digivice in my pocket. "Guilmon!" I called, my running becoming awkward from the deep sand.

The other digimon around us watched with puzzled looks on their faces, but they were invisible to me.

When we were ten feet apart, Guilmon leapt into the air and came hurtling at me. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with Guilmon's arms wrapped tightly around me in a hug. I hugged him back, almost crying into his shoulder with happiness.

"I thought I was never going to see you again!" Guilmon said sadly, his legs wrapping around me as if he was never going to let go again. "I just kept waiting and waiting for you to come… and now you're here!"

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here!" I cried. "I won't ever leave again!"

We stayed like that for a minute before standing up, one arm over the other's shoulder. "I'm just so happy that you're back!" Guilmon said, turning around so we were both watching the ocean.

"Me too, Guilmon," I said.

A loud rumbling that shook the ground stopped us in our words and screams came out from everywhere. There was a deep crater forming in the middle of the beach, and it was only growing bigger directly ahead of us.

"_Oh no…"_


	9. Chapter 9

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Nine**

"What is it?" I cried, Guilmon and I stepping back until the ocean lapped at our heels.

"I don't know," he replied, his voice low.

The crater got deeper at a rate unheard of, and I knew that it couldn't be a natural effect; it had to be a digimon. It stopped sinking at about ten feet deep and twenty in diameter. In the middle, a hole started to grow, and then there was an explosion of sand. Digimon everywhere screamed, and Guilmon and I covered our faces. The sand came crashing down on us, and then there was a piercing roar that filled the air.

When the sand cleared the air, my jaw dropped in not only fear, but also awe. It was a giant squid-like digimon, and by giant I mean it was at least forty feet tall. Tentacles were flailing everywhere, and it reared its hideous body over us all, casting a shadow over the beautiful sky.

My breath was gone, and I found it difficult to think clearly until I heard other digimon attacking. "Fist of the Beast King!" one roared, while another joined in with, "Subzero Ice-Punch!" I watched as an upstanding lion digimon and a snow-bear digimon attacked the monster, but the didn't seem to do much. In fact, the giant digimon merely looked down as if a mosquito had bitten it. Then, it raised one of its massive tentacles and swiped down at that part of the beach sending seven digimon flying.

"Guilmon," I said quietly, "you need to digivolve."

"I can't," he moaned sadly, "it's not working!"

"What? What isn't working?" I was already unclear on the subject of digivolution, but this was just throwing another wrench into the works. "Do you not have enough energy?"

He shook his head. "I don't know," he replied, his head drooping, "I haven't been able to since the desert. Something just isn't right."

I whipped out my digivice and looked into it; nothing was happening. I had no idea what to do then! Every time we had been in any trouble, Guilmon had been able to digivolve and save me, but now I didn't know what to do. Wherever I looked, there were digimon both big and small fighting the monster, but none of it was doing anything. Whether it was blasts of energy, ammunition being fired off, or just plain brute strength, nothing was working.

Guilmon lifted his head and shot off a blast of his own red energy. "Pyro sphere!" The blast hit the giant digimon in the side, and it seemed to notice that it was a new direction of attack. Another tentacle came out and swung at us, crashing directly into us and sending us flying out into the water. A scream tore out of my mouth along with an explosion of pain from my side until it was drowned out by both of us landing in the ocean. The salt water quickly covered my head, and I threw out my arms and legs trying to right myself. Beside me, or rather a few feet away, Guilmon had already righted himself and started swimming towards me. He grabbed my hand and we started to swim back to shore.

"Dragomon's not going to be beaten that easily!" I cried in despair. My feet quickly found solid ground under the water and we were soon back on the shore in the same position we were in before.

"Bunny Blaster!" another digimon roared.

Guilmon looked around, trying to find something – anything. "I don't know what to do!" he moaned again.

Suddenly I heard someone shout, "isn't that a human child by the water?"

Another voice joined it. "What's a human child doing in a battle like this? Someone get him to safety!"

I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but the next thing I knew the lion digimon was in front of us scooping both Guilmon and I up under his arms. He bolted off, not looking back for a second. He ran up the hill and dashed into the village, which if possible was in even more chaos than the beach. At any rate, he flew into a large, one story building that turned out to be a bar. Everything was happening so fast that I didn't have much time to register it. The digimon leapt over the counter and landed softly on the opposite side, then dropped us down to the ground. "What are you doing here, young digidestined?" he asked, dropping to the ground and passing his hands over the floor. "You shouldn't be in the middle of a battle like that!"

"It's a long story," I replied briefly as he found whatever he was looking for. He hooked his finger around something and pulled up revealing a hidden passageway beneath the floor. It was made of stone, so it looked safe.

"Go on," he said, pointing into it. "It goes down for a while then you have to crawl for a bit before you find a small room. There isn't much light, though, but you will be safe here."

I looked up at the digimon. "Who are you?" I asked, knowing perfectly well that this was probably the worst time for introductions.

"My name is Leomon," he replied. "And you're…?"

"I'm Ian," I answered, putting out a hand.

He took it in his own, but his hand was much, much bigger than mine. "Great," he said. "Now please."

I nodded, jumping into the hole, my feet finding ground before my head was in. "Thank-you, Leomon," I said as I went down into the hole. Guilmon soon followed me in, but before the door was closed, Leomon said, "come out when you can't hear any type of battle left out here. There will be someone who comes and finds you if you don't show up." Then he dropped the door down and we were enveloped in almost total darkness.

With no other option in sight, I continued crawling forwards until my head wasn't touching the ceiling when on all fours. I could hear Guilmon behind me, having just as much difficulty as I was. After several metres of this, my hands happened upon rock that was much smoother than the other rock we had been crawling on. My head wasn't touching the ceiling anymore either, so I tentatively lifted a hand and found that I couldn't even reach the top anymore. So, carefully as I could, I tried standing up. I was almost entirely upright before my head touched the top, so I crouched down and moved forwards again. There was a bit more than two metres of more space before I came to a wall, so I slumped down on the floor at the base of it.

Guilmon had realised that we were no longer in a small tunnel, and he quickly shuffled forwards until he found me. "It's very clean down here," he said quietly, "and quiet."

We both were silent then, and our ears gradually picked up the rumbles of the battle that was going on a ways away. "This was very kind of Leomon," I said in a hush. "We don't even know him, or any of the digimon out there, and they helped us." I let my body calm down from the chaos that we had just been part of. My heart rate finally started to return to normal and I let my mind slow back down. Then, I leaned over and rested on Guilmon's side.

Every so often there would be a particularly large rumble, and I would get a bit nervous for the digimon out there. _"How are they going to defeat that monster? We saw them; they were hardly doing any damage to it! And then it could attack seven of them in one sweep; how can they fight something like that?" _Guilmon seemed to be thinking the same thing, but neither of us spoke our fears aloud. "I wonder how long we're going to wait here," Guilmon said.

As minutes slipped away, I started to get worried. "What was that thing, Guilmon?" I asked.

"Dragomon," he replied in a hiss. "It's an ultimate level digimon. Virus type."

Wolfemon had already explained to me that there were three types of digimon: Vaccine, Data and Virus. Usually on the virus type were bad, but anyone could be tempted by power. "Do they stand a chance?" I dared to ask.

Guilmon remained silent at this. "There were a lot of champion digimon out there," he said after a long pause. "I hope so."

There was a particularly powerful rumble that seemed closer to us than any of the others had been. We both quieted then, and listened intently.

_Crash._

It had left the beach.

_Rumble._

Dragomon was closer.

_RUMBLE._

"Guilmon…" I started.

"It's getting too close," he replied.

There was a crashing of wood, and the ceiling above us shook off a sprinkle of dust. "We're sitting ducks if we're trapped in here," I continued.

"How would he know about such a small trapdoor?" Guilmon asked.

"He could tear the floor off," I suggested in a frightened voice. I was getting quite nervous now; my chest still hurt from where we had been hit, and I knew that there would be a bruise there soon.

Guilmon took my hand in his. "We're not getting separated again," he said firmly.

"Thanks," I whispered, holding his hand tighter.

Another giant crash, louder than any of the others, and I heard a sickening crack from around us.

My opposite hand shot out and felt around, freezing when it passed over a deep crack in the ceiling. "Is it looking for us? How could it be looking for us?"

"Calm down," Guilmon said gently.

I didn't even need to feel his trembling to know that he was scared too; his voice completely gave it away.

There was another huge crash before the small tunnel that we crawled through practically exploded. It seemed like half of it had been torn away and light flooded the cave, momentarily blinding us. When the dust settled and we could somewhat see, I cried out in fear: it was one of Dragomon's giant tentacles. "PYRO BLASTER!" Guilmon shot out another blast of red energy and it collided with the tentacle making it retreat immediately.

"Guilmon, we need to get out of here," I said in a rush.

"There's nowhere to go!" he retorted as another tentacle entered the cave. He blasted it away too, but there were a lot of tentacles that Dragomon had, and I knew that we wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

He blasted away one more tentacle before two more tore the hole wider and we started to hear the chaos from the battle. There were battle cries everywhere, screams of agony, and roars of frustration. Guilmon blasted at them, but it didn't do anything. They reached in, and I screamed when one touched me. I tried kicking it, but it swarmed in and wrapped tightly around my legs and lower waist. "Guilmon!" I shouted in fear. I wrapped my arms around him, and he me, as Dragomon dragged me towards the hole.

The pain was crushing, and I was desperately afraid of hearing a cracking sound come from my legs. "Ian-mon!" Guilmon shouted as he tried to pull me back. This succeeded in only making the pulling faster, and I was scared that Guilmon might slip from my grasp.

Then, in one swift movement, we were out of the cave and being raised several feet into the air. There were many digimon fighting in the remains of the bar we had been hiding under, and Dragomon was standing in most of it. I screamed again, holding on even tighter to Guilmon.

"He's got the digidestined!" someone shouted.

When we were almost waist level with the giant monster, it squeezed even harder, making my grip on Guilmon loosen considerably. "Don't let go!" Guilmon demanded. "We can do this!"

I screamed in pain as a loud crack emitted from my ankle. "GUILMON!" I cried as he tightened his grip on me.

Suddenly, he tilted his head to the side and sunk his teeth into Dragomon's tentacle, a long trail of blood coming from it. Dragomon roared in rage and lifted another tentacle, slamming it into Guilmon.

"NO!" I screamed as Guilmon's body went limp. I clung desperately to him, ignoring my own pain, while trying to think of something I could do. _"But there's nothing I can do! Guilmon's unconscious, and I can't fight a giant squid on my own!" _"WHY CAN'T WE WIN?" I demanded.

A burst of golden light shot out from my chest, illuminating the already bright sky. I looked down and could see the blazing gold of the Crest of Life, lifting itself upwards until it hovered around my neck. Even though pain was coursing through my body, I still had energy to be amazed at what was happening. Dragomon roared in anger, but when it brought a tentacle down on it, the tentacle just disintegrated.

All around me on the ground I could see bursts of light similar to the light that emitted from Guilmon when he digivolved. I watched in pure shock as the digimon all started to digivolve until they were all in their new forms.

They didn't take more than a second to be amazed before they aimed more attacks at Dragomon. The monster roared once more, then it started to disintegrate like its tentacle had. I clung to Guilmon's body as the tentacle that was wrapped around me disappeared and we started to hurtle to the ground. I let out another cry, holding onto Guilmon for dear life, but when we should've hit the ground, I merely blacked out.

I awoke with a start finding myself in a sun filled room on a soft bed. I was covered with a soft, white sheet, and there was Guilmon, still asleep. He had an array of bruises on his side, most likely from being hit by the Dragomon.

At that thought, my hand darted to the Crest of Life around my neck. I stared at the little pendant in awe; had it been the cause of all those digimon's digivolution? It seemed like a lot to think of, so I dropped it and returned my gaze to Guilmon. He wasn't unconscious, just sleeping.

I lay back down on the bed, resting my head on his shoulder. _"He risked his life _again_ trying to save me! How can I repay such a debt? Guilmon is the best friend I've ever had…"_ The Digital World had become my life; there was nothing else to think about anymore, and after what happened on the Trainmon, it didn't seem like I would be going home again. There were no other thoughts to cloud my mind from outside of this world. _"I wonder where I am?"_

I pushed the sheet off of me, leaving Guilmon to sleep, and went to get out of the bed. My right foot made it to the ground all right, but when my left foot tried, a blast of pain shot up my leg. That's when I remembered the cracking sound from when Dragomon had us. My hand reached down and pulled up the cuff of my pants to reveal my ankle: wrapped tightly in bandages.

My feet quickly withdrew from the floor and returned to the bed. _"I guess not," _I decided. Carefully, I returned my head back to Guilmon's shoulder, trying to get some more rest. It had been a fierce battle for all of the digimon, and I was getting a little worried with all the fighting around that either Guilmon or I would be fatally injured. So far we had been lucky, but in most of the cases it was only luck that had got us out of them, and I didn't know what I would do if he was… _"No, I'm not going to think like that. We'll just do out best to keep out of trouble."_

I held still as I heard a set of footsteps walk by the opposite side of the door. They didn't hinder, though, so I felt free to let my guard down.

"Oh, Guilmon," I sighed, "what are we doing here? All we've managed to do since we got to this world is toy with death and try and find each other again. Whatever happens, I'm not going to let us get separated again." I tucked my knees up to my chest, being extremely careful to avoid hurting my ankle. "I just wish there was something that we were doing again. We had a purpose before, but now all we know is that there's an evil coming to form, and there's nothing we can do about it."

I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a half sleep. My mind was still conscious of what was going on, but I was free to let it wander in a dream state.

Hours must've slipped by, and I had fallen asleep for a few minutes several times. There had been more footsteps that passed by, but none of them stopped or even slowed as they went. I was beginning to wonder whether anyone was even waiting for us, or whether we were just lying there without anyone's knowledge.

Finally, after another quick nap, Guilmon woke up.

He rolled to his side, then let out a moan of pain. "Everything hurts," he said quietly. Then, still unaware that I was awake, he pulled the sheet off of himself and let his feet fall to the floor.

That's when I decided to get up too. I pulled myself up into a sitting position emitting a creak from the bed. Guilmon looked back and saw me there and said, "you're awake!" He turned back and hugged me, then let go and asked, "are you alright?"

"My ankle is broken, I think," I said, showing him the bandages, "but otherwise I'm okay. Look at you, though!" I reached out my hand and touched his side where the bruises started. "You've got a huge bruise all down your back! And it's all that Dragomon's fault."

His ears pricked up at the mention of the monster's name. "What happened to him?" he asked quickly. "Did he leave?"

"It was very strange," I said slowly. "Right after you went unconscious, my Crest started to glow, then all the digimon on the ground digivolved and destroyed it. I don't know how it happened, but it's thanks to all of them that we're safe."

Guilmon seemed confused about it, but he dropped it quickly. "That is strange," he agreed after a pause. "I guess we'd better get out of this room, though. Can you walk?"

I shook my head. "I can barely put any pressure on my bad foot at all," I replied.

Guilmon hopped off the bed and came over to my side where I had already stuck my legs out from the bed. He put his shoulder under my left arm, and I put my left arm over his opposite shoulder, and then he helped heave me up out of the bed. It was a bit shaky, but we managed to get me to hobble to the door without putting any pressure on my left foot.

I opened the door with my free hand, and we instantly heard several chairs being pushed back from wherever they were.

We were in the side room of another bar, very similar to the one we had been hiding under, and there were about twenty different digimon standing at attention… for us.

Leomon was among the digimon standing, and he was also the first to speak. "You're both awake," he said lightly, as if in a trance, or in the presence of a god. "There are many digimon that want to meet you and thank you." He gestured to the other digimon that were standing in the room.

"Thank us?" I asked. "For what?"

"You made us all digivolve!" a small little brown rabbit said. It was standing next to one that looked almost identical to it, except it was a creamy white colour. "You gave us the strength to defeat Dragomon!"

Guilmon and I looked at each other with confused looks. "We did?" we asked in unison.

An orange dinosaur spoke next. "Yes!" he said excitedly. "Something about you made us all digivolve! Without you there would be nothing left of our city! You're heroes!"

My mind just couldn't seem to grasp everything that was being said. How could I alone have made all these digimon get powerful enough to do something that they couldn't before? It was just inconceivable. "Um… you're welcome?" I said with uncertainty.

"How did you do it?" another one asked. "We want to digivolve again!"

Leomon stepped in here, which was good because I didn't know what to say anymore. "I think that's enough for the digidestined," he said, shooing them away. "They deserve some time to rest, don't you think?"

Grumbling, the digimon in the room slowly filed out of the bar, leaving us alone with Leomon. There was an uncomfortable pause which, thankfully, I didn't have to break.

"Thank-you for helping us, Leomon," Guilmon said.

"I'm just sorry that it didn't help the way it should've," he said sullenly, his head drooping a bit. "It seems that I put you in more danger than you were in before."

"But we're still here," I pointed out.

"Still…" Leomon seemed to feel really bad about it.

"There was nothing that you could've done to prevent it, Leomon," I continued. "Besides, you were trying to help, and that's all that matters."

"I just wonder how Dragomon knew where we were," Guilmon said. "We were hidden so well…"

Once again, the room filled with silence.

"Where are we?" I asked after a while.

Leomon seemed pleased to be off the topic. "This is a bar about a kilometre away from the beach, but the region is still called Southern Populous Beach. It is for a few miles before you reach the grasslands, and then its open hills and fields for weeks of walking."

"What happened to us?" I asked, "when we fell, I mean. I don't remember hitting the ground." Guilmon wouldn't have remembered anything, so this was news to him too.

"That's because you didn't," Leomon said, confusion entering his voice. "It's like you fell unconscious _while_ you were falling, and then, right before you should've hit the ground, you just sort of floated gently to the ground with Guilmon. We tried to get to you before you hit the ground, but most of us were still expecting battle. When we did get to you, we carried you here, where we knew we were a safe distance away from the beach. You've only been unconscious for a bit more than a day, so you did pretty well as far as most digimon go. It's still a mystery to me what that Dragomon was doing there, but he's not there anymore, so I guess it really doesn't matter. How did you manage to make us digivolve, anyway?"

Guilmon helped me hobble to the nearest couch, and when we sat down in it, Leomon sat down in the sofa chair across from us. "I don't know," I said. "I'm still really curious about it myself. Something just… happened. I don't know what it was, but I think that it had to do with the Crest of Life." I stopped to lift up the Tag and Crest and tossed it over to him.

He caught it delicately, as if it were more precious than any other thing in the world, then proceeded to scour it for any possible reasons as to why it did what it did. When he finished, he walked it over to me and I put it back around my neck. Once he was sitting again, the conversation continued. "Most intriguing," he said. "I've never seen anything like it before. Where did you get it?"

That's when Guilmon decided to jump in. He told Leomon of pretty much everything that had happened since right before he came to my home world, all the way up to I stepped off the Trainmon and appeared at the beach. It took him a considerable time, and I was quite surprised that one so adult-like as Leomon had the patience to wait for it. To me, I had been used to adults not listening to what children had to say, but so far this world was proving to demolish such stereotypes. A grin tugged at my lips as Leomon thought over what had been said.

"You have done a great deal of travelling, the both of you," he said finally, "more than most who're twice your age have. You should be very proud of yourselves. I can't believe how much this must've cost you, Ian, to leave your own world for such an extended period of time. Do you know how you plan to get back?"

I shook my head. "I don't plan to," I said firmly. "I haven't sacrificed much more than some good friends. Besides, this is like living in my dreams, being in a world where I can be who I want to be."

Guilmon seemed happier at this. It was the first time I had voiced this choice aloud, and I could tell the Guilmon had wanted it to be my choice.

"That is a very big decision," Leomon said gravely, "I assume you've put a great deal of thought into it?"

With a nod, I replied, "I have. Although, even if I had been given only a second to decide, it would've been the same. I thank you for your concern, though."

"Now we just have to figure out what to do, now," Guilmon said. "Should we try and find Gennai again? He gave us lots of answers before."

"He gave us fewer answers than he did questions," I retorted. "Each answer only led us to bigger and more important questions, none of which he was able to answer. Maybe there's a greater form of intelligence in this world that can help us. And if there isn't, we still have to worry about this great evil that's supposed to be rising."

"But unless you know where you're going, there's almost no point in even looking," Leomon stated. "The Digital World is unbelievably vast, and without a direction to go in, you could spend many lifetimes looking with no success."

"Well that just leaves us at a dead end," I sighed, "between a rock and a hard place."

"We could stay here for a while, until anything comes up at least," Guilmon suggested. "That way you might get a chance to let your ankle heal. We can't go fast enough to make any real distance with it anyway."

I sighed again. _"More waiting for something to find us."_ "I suppose that that is the best idea," I said. "Do you mind if we do, Leomon?"

The giant digimon seemed lost in thought, but he was quickly brought back into reality. "Of course not," he said. "You helped save our city, so it's the least that we can do. You can stay in your room if you want, or we can find somewhere else that's better. Food isn't a problem; this is a bar, we have lots of it."

The while truckload of information seemed to pile in a bit too quickly, but I did understand everything. "That would be most generous of you," I said, leaning farther onto Guilmon's shoulder. I was getting tired, and at the same time hungry. It wasn't a good combination for me.

"Well, then," Leomon said, standing up, "I guess that means that business is open again." He stood up from the chair and promptly left the building.

"That was nice of him," Guilmon said. But I was already mostly asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Ten**

_I slowly opened my eyes to see… brightness. I was lying on the same couch as when I had fallen asleep, but Guilmon wasn't there anymore. Around me there were digimon walking around, but they didn't move the normal way; they moved as if in a movie that only had every tenth frame. They would just slide from pose to pose and continue walking by. _

_The bar was strangely bright and it was difficult to see normally without squinting. When I stood up, pain coursed through my ankle and I stumbled forwards with a cry of agony. "Guilmon!" I shouted, my head whipping around desperately. "Leomon!" This didn't seem right._

_Hopping on one foot, I moved slowly through the bunches of digimon and made it to the door without falling. Outside was just the same: things going on as if nothing was wrong. I called out for Guilmon again, but nothing was happening. Fear seemed to touch at the edges of my mind, but I didn't let it take over. Turning around, I hobbled back to the middle of the bar, then decided to go into the bedroom. _

_When making my way there, I tripped over one of the digimon's feet and went crashing to the floor. The digimon took no notice but simply kept moving. Getting up was much more difficult than I thought it would've been. Unconsciously, I put a great deal of pressure on my left foot and an overwhelming pain coursed through me, wrenching a scream from my mouth. _

_Finally, I dragged myself to my feet and hopped to the door. When I put my hand on the doorknob, I nearly scalded myself. It felt like it was on fire! Slipping the cuff of my shirt over my hand, I quickly twisted the knob and let the door open._

_My eyes fell upon another set of eyes._

_Human eyes._

_They glinted maliciously behind long, black hair above a very dark grin. I knew that face… I knew those eyes however grey they might've been… and I most certainly knew that smile. _

_He wore completely black, and around his neck was a Tag… but the crest inside of it was…_

_"The Crest of Darkness," his venomous voice hissed._

I shook my head. "It's impossible," I uttered. "…You're – you're…" 

"No!" I cried. My arms were wrapped tightly around Guilmon, and they were shaking violently. He was wide-awake, sitting upright on the couch and Leomon was sitting opposite us on his sofa chair. He was watching intently, his piercing blue eyes surprisingly comfortable.

"Ian-mon," Guilmon said, patting me on the back. "It's okay, you're awake."

My heart was still racing in fear at what I had seen, but my memories of the dream were fading quickly. I grappled with them, trying to pull at who had been sitting on the bed, but all I could remember were the dark, grey eyes. My fear overwhelmed me again, and I did my best not to fall to pieces again. I embraced Guilmon tightly, my face in his shoulder, and held back a wave of tears. _"Why did that nightmare scare me so much? Its not like it was frightening…"_

"What did you see?" Lemon's voice came from over my shoulder in a firm tone. "You called both Guilmon's name and my own."

"…I can hardly remember," I said, my voice fumbling as I tugged at my memories. "I was here… and then, I don't remember." I paused for a moment, then the eyes darted back into my mind. "_He_ was there!"

"Who?" Guilmon asked.

I looked up to him gravely. "_Him_," I replied. "Darkness has taken a solid form."

Both of them fell silent at this; there was nothing to say now. Guilmon patted my back a bit, but stopped when I pulled myself upright on the couch. Leomon stood up and walked over behind the bar and started rummaging around, then started to pile some dishes on the counter. "What're you doing?" Guilmon asked.

"Well, there's no point in just sitting around doing nothing," he said, his eyes preoccupied with what he was doing. "So I'm making some breakfast. Besides, the shop will open soon so I'd better get things moving before a crowd draws at the door."

Soon there was the sizzling of eggs on a skillet, bacon drowning in fat and the occasional flipping of pancakes. The smell that wafted over was unbelievable, and it was apparent that Leomon did all the cooking here.

Twenty minutes later, when the whole bar smelled strongly of a great breakfast, Leomon called us over to the bar. Guilmon helped me over, and when we were sitting in the stools, Leomon picked up two plates piled high with eggs both fried and scrambled, bacon that looked to be done perfectly, and amazingly golden pancakes dripping with syrup.

My eyes widened at the sight of such a perfect breakfast. "Wow!" I exclaimed as he brought out the cutlery. "This looks amazing!"

"I can't believe how good this looks!" Guilmon added. "I don't know what to eat first!"

"Well," said Leomon as he produced two glasses of orange juice, "you've got plenty of time to decide." He smiled widely at this.

So, Guilmon and I started eating. It all tasted so good, like I had never had any of it before in my life. Everything was done to the perfect degree; the eggs were runny, but not too runny, the bacon was tender, but a bit crunchy at the same time, and the syrup on the pancakes was so sweet that I could hardly believe that it was actually syrup.

Guilmon, whose hands weren't made for utensils, did his best to eat politely, but he was quickly making a mess for himself. But he was smiling and having a great deal of fun, so it was hardly noticeable over his happy demeanour.

It took a while to finish such a grand feast, and when we were done, I too had made a mess out of myself. "That was astounding!" I said, looking up to Leomon. "Where did you learn to cook like that?"

The lion digimon smiled as I said that. "It comes from years of constructive criticism," he replied, collecting the dishes from the counter. "You two can go wash up while I do these dishes. The washroom is just down the hall there."

Guilmon and I made our ways over to the bathroom, him helping me still. I was thoroughly annoyed at my ankle, but there just wasn't anything I could do but wait for it to heal and do my best to stay off of it.

The washrooms were nothing extravagant, just a couple of sinks, paper towel dispensers and a few stalls. The walls and floors were made of soft blue tiles, and the sinks must've been marble. It wasn't long before we were up to our elbows in soap and hot water. We both laughed at how silly it was for a while before rinsing off. When we were dried off, Guilmon helped me back to the main room where we found Leomon sitting patiently in his sofa chair.

"Well," he said, "now that breakfast is done, is there anything that you'd like to do?"

I looked at Guilmon who returned my questioning glance. He shrugged, so I asked, "are there any parks around here?"

He nodded placidly. "It's actually a rather large park," he said. "Riodosa Park is only a fifteen minute walk away. There's a big pond, an open field for games, and a small forest. I think you'd really enjoy it there."

"Well that sounds great!" I replied.

"And what would you like to do for lunch?" he asked. "You could come back here, but there's usually a vendor or two in the park."

"Ooh!" Guilmon exclaimed. "Can we go to the vendors, Ian-mon?"

"We don't have any money, though," I pointed out. "Besides, it's only a ten minute walk. How hard could that be?"

"Would you like some digi-dollars?" Leomon asked, "there's more than enough profit in the register for lunches for the two of you."

My guilt kicked in here. "Are you sure that's okay?" I asked. "I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense," Leomon said, waving it off as he made his way to the register. "I make plenty of money a day from this bar and its mine to do with as I wish." He returned with a few bills in his hand that he promptly put in mine. "Don't worry about it. It's all right." He smiled again.

"Thank-you very much," I said gratefully.

"Now you two had better get going," he said. "There's only so much time in a day!"

I thanked him once more before we made our way out the door. Guilmon helped me hop down the one step before we started walking up the already busy roads.

As we walked, a few digimon would look curiously at us, then burst into whispers once they thought we were out of earshot. Guilmon didn't seem to notice, but I sure did. There were a couple that smiled at us, and I was quite happy to return the smile, but they were outnumbered by the people who openly gawked. I felt like something from a freak show that people were lining up to just get a look at.

"How do they all know that I'm different?" I asked Guilmon after a pair of brown robots walked by. "None of them look the same, but they don't stare at each other."

"I don't know," Guilmon answered, "maybe they can smell-" He stopped in his sentence as he spotted something. Then he pulled me over to a nearby shop and looked in through the front window. It was then that I too noticed what he was looking at. "This is how they know," he said, pointing a claw at the newspaper behind the glass.

The newspaper had a picture of Dragomon on the front in black and white, and the heading read, "Human Child and his Digimon Take on Dragomon at Southern Populous Beach." The article below explained that my magic was the source of many digivolutions that took place at the beach two days ago, and although it was a great feat, that I had unbelievable strength and people should take caution around me.

My eye twitched a bit at reading this, but I didn't let it get to me. With a snort, Guilmon led the way back to the main part of the street and we continued to Riodosa Park.

Fifteen minutes later, we reached a large set of rod iron gates with the park's name inscribed over it. It was a walled park, but the trees inside were so tall that even the eight-foot walls could barely reach their lowest branches. A refreshing scent came from the park, and I eagerly kept us moving forwards through the gates.

A large smile ran across my face and my eyes glimmered at the beautiful sight before us. The park was everything that Leomon had said, but a hundred times better. The golden sun shone on the bark mulch pathways that were surrounded with ankle deep grass and dotted with fancy benches. There were flowering trees and bushes there, and many more trees that I didn't recognise.

As we entered the park, the few digimon that were in it looked over at me. I smiled a bit, but stuck with Guilmon.

"Lets go lie in the field," I suggested, keeping us moving. I didn't like to feel everyone staring at me – judging me. It made me feel like I had done something wrong, or that there was something hideously wrong with me.

We hobbled through the field, passing under giant, shade giving trees making me feel a little bit cooler when we did so. There was a slightly smaller tree that sort of resembled a maple tree that we decided to rest under. I smiled at how beautiful everything was again before sitting down against the tree trunk. Guilmon said down beside me against the tree, and we both looked up into its dense branches.

For a while, we let the breeze do all the talking, but I quickly became bored of it. "Guilmon," I said, "what do we do when my ankle is better? Where do we go?"

Guilmon leaned against my shoulder, turning a bit as he wrapped his arms around my right arm. "I don't know," he answered. "Maybe we should find the Gates of Fire that Gennai suggested. Then maybe you wouldn't have to have those terrible night terrors anymore."

I contemplated the idea for a minute. "That sounds like a good possibility," I said. "The only problem is that we have no idea where the Gates are. We'd have to spend some time looking for someone who did."

"Well, it's a big city here," Guilmon continued, "there's bound to be someone who knows about them."

"True," I added. "Very true."

I smiled as a group of tiny digimon bounced by with a bigger digimon bounding after them. It was truly beautiful here in the Digital World. I had everything I needed here, and then some. Whatever had been holding me back from being 'entirely here' was beyond me, for I had never been as happy as I was now. So, when my ankle healed, I knew that I would be set for the world.

There was a rustling from above causing both of us to look up. Then, a small bowling ball with wings and legs floated down in front of us. "I hear you're looking for the Gates of Fire," he said in a tone that made me thing bad news.

"That's rather rude of you to have been listening, Demi-Devimon," Guilmon said, not making eye contact with the little digimon. "Eavesdropping seems just like you."

I was shocked at how Guilmon had reacted to the digimon's greeting. "Do you know this guy, Guilmon?" I asked.

Guilmon shook his head. "No, but there's enough bad rumours about him that you could write a long novel with," he replied bitterly. "He's not a good digimon to be talking to; just ignore him."

"Hey, that really hurts my feelings!" Demi-Devimon said indignantly. "I'm just trying to be a good person and this is the thanks I get? I guess I'll just leave!" He turned around and started to fly away.

"Good riddance!" Guilmon snorted.

Still appalled at Guilmon's behaviour, I looked back to Demi-Devimon. "Wait!" I called after him. "What can you tell us about it?"

He looked back with a gleam in his eye. What Guilmon had said started to seem not so impossible, but I was willing to at least listen to what he had to say. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I can talk." He turned around and landed on the ground in front of us. Guilmon turned his head so he didn't see him. "If you have to know, the Gates of Fire aren't really that far away. You just have to go a day or two down the side of the grasslands before you come to some mountains. There's a particularly large peak called Mt. Chinera, and you just have to climb about halfway before you come to a cave. Follow the passageway and you'll be at them in no time."

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Were you expecting more?" he retorted.

"Well, kind of," I answered. "Everything that we've done so far in the Digital World has taken a considerable amount of time and effort. This seems like the easiest by a long shot."

"What can I say?" he boasted. "When you talk to Demi-Devimon, you get the best of the best!" At that, he turned around and flew off, chuckling to himself.

I turned to Guilmon to say something, but he cut me off. "Don't even say it," he said, his eyes closed tight. "He's a bad digimon and he shouldn't be trusted."

"Guilmon!" I exclaimed, looking at him with an irritated expression. "I won't take directions from someone I don't know! I'm not stupid! I was going to suggest that we find someone knowledgeable who would really know with maybe maps or something."

After that, he calmed down considerably. He relaxed once more and leaned on me again. "Thank-you, Ian-mon," he sighed.

Everything was quiet again. I could hear a fountain splashing nearby, and the park got gradually more and more crowded. It wasn't uncomfortably packed, but in a way that was noticeably full. There were friends playing games with balls and frisbees, couples walking slowly down pathways, but it was mostly kids playing around.

I wished that Guilmon and I could join them, but my ankle was really keeping me down. That, of course, made me feel guilty because Guilmon could've been up having fun, but instead he was sitting here with me and my broken ankle. When I tried to voice this, though, he brushed it off. "All we've been doing since I brought you back here is running around and getting in danger. It's nice to finally just have some quiet time to ourselves."

A smile spread across my face. I was really glad that he felt that way; it made me feel way better. "Thanks Guilmon," I said quietly.

About an hour and a half later, we decided to try walking again. Since I had awoken my mind had had its guard up for trouble or danger, but as the day had progressed, I found myself starting to relax.

We walked down along the pathway, moving off the path most of the time so we weren't obstructing the people who could walk normally. It didn't take long to come upon the pond, and it was the most extravagant water feature I had seen since my trip to Scotland the summer previous to last. In the centre of it was a beautiful fountain that constantly changed its pattern, while the main body of water was a centre ring of water with four small streams breaking off of it and turning into their own separate bodies. To add to the effect, each new circle of rings was a half-step down from the last one, giving it the look of a rounded pyramid.

Within this fountain was the occasional plant or two, each one considerably different than the last. Whether it was a different colour or style of plant entirely, it was a real rainbow displayed across the waters.

The digimon around us, however, were if possible, more different than the plants in the water. Everyone was just so different in size, colour and general look. _"Imagine if humans could act this way,"_ I thought, my mind straying back to my old world. _"So completely different from each other, but not even noticing the differences."_ I sighed enviously, wishing that I had not been brought up in a society that was discriminative to other people. _"I guess I'll just start to learn."_

Then we spotted two digimon that we clearly recognised from the bar the night before. They were the two little digimon with giant ears; one was white and green while the other was brown and pink. They looked like twins. Both of them came right up to us, stopping us in our tracks. "Good morning!" they said in unison. "Getting a tour of the park?" the white one asked.

"We were," Guilmon answered. "Can we help you?"

The brown one took over here. "I'm Lopmon," she said, her voice high giving away her gender, "and this is my brother Terriermon. We just wanted to take the time to say thank-you for helping us before with the Dragomon."

"We probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Terriermon jumped in. "Whatever you did, it certainly helped. If there's anything that we could do for you…"

I shook my head with a smile on it. "It was nothing," I said. "But thank-you for coming all this way to thank me. That was very kind of you."

The two little digimon looked at their feet after this, apparently not used to the compliments that were being passed back and forth. "Well, we'll probably stop at the bar once in a while," Lopmon said, "so we might see you there. How long are you staying in South Populous Beach?"

"Just until my ankle heals," I replied. "Then we need to go and find the Gates of Fire. Hey, while you're here, do you know where we might find some information on them?"

Both Terriermon and Lopmon looked at each other for a moment. "The Library is probably the best place to go," Terriermon replied. "If you want, we can go there."

Guilmon nodded. "We just need to get some lunch before we go. It must be getting close to lunch time anyway."

"The vendor is going in the same direction as you," they said in unison, pointing down the pathway. Lopmon took over again, "you'll have to pick up your pace if you're ever gong to catch it."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance at our situation, but I didn't have to be bothered by it. Guilmon, in one quick motion, slipped me onto his back in the way that I had carried him in both the desert and the forest. He caught me by surprise, and my arms automatically went over his shoulders to avoid falling off. Laughing, he said, "hold on! It's finally my turn to carry you, and not the other way around!" With that, he started forwards at a fast walk while on either side of us, Terriermon and Lopmon ran, also laughing. With all of the joy around me, it was only a matter of time before I too was laughing.

During the run, digimon on the pathway moved out of the way with confused looks on their faces. I supposed that people around here didn't normally act this way, but for the most part I ignored them.

It didn't take very long at all to catch up with what could only be the lunch vendor. It was a tall, yellow trolley with large cartwheels on the sides and a canopy over it. There was a sweet smell that came from it, but I couldn't tell what it was from the strange runes that were sprawled across the canopy. The cart was being pulled by a small digimon whose legs looked like a cloud.

When we got up beside the cart, Guilmon let me back down to the ground and helped me stand again, while Lopmon leapt up onto my shoulder and Terriermon on Guilmon's. "That's Tapirmon," she said quietly. "He owns the noodle cart here."

"Tapirmon!" Terriermon called out, catching the digimon's attention. "Can we get some noodles?"

He stopped the cart and smiled at us. "Sure," he said, "how many bowls?"

"Just two," Guilmon answered.

Tapirmon nodded kindly and aptly prepared two bowls and stuck a set of chopsticks in both. He also dropped a few vegetables on both of them, then spread a quick dash of soy sauce over them. "Nine digi-dollars, please," he said, handing the bowls to us. Guilmon held both of them while I rummaged through my pockets for the money. Leomon had given us twenty, and I handed Tapirmon two fives.

"The rest is a tip," I said, declining the change he started to prepare. "Great service here." I smiled at him happily.

He bowed swiftly, then added, "thank-you very much, human child. I believe the press needs to get their stories straight before they publish them."

The four of us sat at the first bench we found and ate our lunch, finding that the noodles were surprisingly tasty.

After lunch, we headed for the library with Terriermon and Lopmon. We were only about eight blocks away from Leomon's bar, and it looked like the walk would be really worth it. The library was three stories high, and all the windows were jammed with books that ranged from ancient, giant and tattered, to small, shiny and new. There were more strange runes painted beautifully on the windows and awnings, but there was nothing else that this building could've been.

When I had lived in my world, I had been a bookworm. I would pour through thousands of pages at a time, then stop for a week or two to let my mind cool down before going at it again. I would fall in love with these books, finding myself at night, hunched over the book with a faint light letting the world within the pages jump out at me.

Guilmon had to give me some extra help to get up the steps, but I was too excited to worry about my ankle. The smell of knowledge was strong, blowing fiercely in my face, and I loved it. I put my hand on the metal bar, opening the large oak doors, and I gasped slightly in anticipation.


	11. Chapter 11

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Eleven**

I felt like I was in a wonderful dream. The shelves of books seemed to reach up to the sky, the only change in them being the occasional floor to let another rolling ladder reach the next several shelves. In the middle of the room rested about forty tall shelves, a few of which had small digimon scaling them looking for the books.

The silence in the room wasn't eerie and foreboding, but comfortable… cosy. Within this silence rested the smell of old and yellowing pages, and though a normal person would find the smell unpleasant, I understood it to be a great indication of the knowledge that rested there. If I had the time, I could've been there for months, pouring through every page in there, but I knew that we had a mission, and I didn't want to stray from it for personal hobbies.

"Is there a card catalogue?" I asked, looking around. There didn't even seem to be a librarian of any sort to be seen.

"What would you need that for?" Terriermon asked. "Everything here is alphabetical anyway. We just need to go up to the top floor for 'G.' That's where we should fine the Gates of Fire, right?"

Lopmon, still on my shoulder, nodded. "That's right," she said. "Just over there along the wall to the staircase." She pointed over to the left where a giant spiral staircase went along the wall around the room to every floor.

As amazing this was, and as much as I had always wanted to climb up a giant spiral staircase, it was a let down for me and my ankle. Guilmon, once again, noticed the need for help and quickly got me onto his back again. I found myself with both Lopmon and Terriermon on my shoulders now, and if we weren't in a library, I would've been laughing my head off. "Thanks, Guilmon," I said quietly as he started forwards.

"It's nothing," he returned, "even with Lopmon and Terriermon, you don't weigh very much."

This surprised me because I assumed that we were roughly about the same, but it didn't take me long to clue in that he had a four and a half-foot tail and legs that were more muscled than even mine, which was surprising because I had been dancing for eight and a half years now. Then I came to the realisation that I had carried someone who was considerably heavier than I so many miles already. _"I guess its true… when its someone you care about, you do get unbelievable feats of strength."_

When we reached the stairs, Terriermon and Lopmon hopped off me and started scaling the railing. This gave Guilmon a bit more extra strength and I could tell that it was much easier for him. He climbed the stairs with ease, and it didn't take long before we reached the first landing.

I smiled widely at what I saw: along with the bookcases, there were tables, couches, chairs and soft lights for the digimon who were reading. There was another strong impulse for me to start reading, but I knew that I could wait until we reached the final floor.

It was about five minutes, still, until we reached the top floor, and we still needed to get from 'A' to 'G.' Fortunately, we could go backwards through 'H' and we were there.

Between 'H' and 'G,' there was a couch with to side tables, and Guilmon let me down gently on the couch, finally letting his fatigue get to him. He too slumped down onto the couch beside me while Terriermon and Lopmon found the nearest ladder and pulled it over before Terriermon rushed up it. Lopmon stayed at the bottom, holding the ladder in place. When he reached the top, he looked at the books, then back down to Lopmon.

"Bring me to the left a few feet!" he called. His voice echoed loudly throughout the hush of the library, and he blushed enough for even me to see it.

Lopmon shook her head in disappointment, then slid the ladder over. Terriermon's hand ran over the books, his eyes scanning the titles that went by. When his hand stopped over one book, he said, much quieter, "stop!" He then tugged at what looked like the largest book on the row, groaning from the stress needed to do this. "This is one big book," he grunted, balancing it on his head and holding it with his ears. Then, he grabbed either side of the ladder and slid like a bullet down it.

When he hit the bottom, the book went jumping off his head, and Lopmon leapt up to grab it. It was a funny sight, but they eventually brought the book over and dropped it on my lap.

I was surprised that the book hadn't squished them, because even I thought it was pretty heavy. It had a thick leather cover on it, and the binding had dark, digital writing on it. The thought that I wouldn't be able to read what was in it flashed through my mind, but that fear was abolished as soon as I opened it up.

The writing was in english, and the first page even said 'Gates of Fire' on it. I sighed gratefully, and looked for the table of contents. However, even with three digimon looking over onto the pages for it, it wasn't found. There wasn't even an index! At any rate, the book was roughly one and a half thousand pages long, and I didn't really feel like reading such a long book at the time.

"What do we do?" Guilmon asked, now leaning on my shoulder to look at the writing. "Can you read fast enough to get through all of that?"

I shook my head, but I wasn't perturbed. "Simple," I replied, picking up a few hundred pages. "We skim." I dropped the first page, scanning it quickly, looking for any information on the Gates of Fire's location. My head tilted to the side, though, in confusion. I had never looked at such a complicated book. If the words weren't at least ten letters long, they were short and vexing. A cough of surprise came from my throat, and my skimming speed dropped by about half.

Forty seconds later, I flipped the page and sighed. I had barely started the book and I was already pushing my limits. "This could take a little longer than I thought," I said, shaking my head a bit. "Are there any other copies of this book?"

Terriermon nearly laughed out loud. "Are you kidding?" he asked, "that's one of the oldest books in the library! We're lucky that this book is even still here, let alone in good shape."

I shrugged, returning my gaze to the paper. The pages were yellow and made of parchment, while the writing looked like it had been done with a feather quill. The scratch marks and the occasional inkblot made this quite obvious.

Half an hour passed when I just leaned back on the couch in fatigue. Lopmon and Terriermon were playing hand games in boredom, but Guilmon had been doing his best to continue looking at the book. "I'm sorry," I said. "This is just too tiring. I need to take a break, at least for a couple minutes."

Lopmon looked up, then pulled the book down onto the floor between her and Terriermon. "That's okay," she said. "We can work at it for a while." She and Terriermon each took a page and started scanning while I curled up on the couch next to Guilmon.

From what I had seen, the first bit of book was mainly a bunch of gibberish: most of the pages were just chanting something about the Gates, but it didn't specify what about. I was at a blank, so far, but I still felt like I needed to do more. At any rate, there was no way that I could read anymore of that without taking a break.

I leaned onto Guilmon's shoulder and closed my eyes.

It felt like I had only just closed my eyes when they opened again, and if it weren't for the windows revealing the golden light of sunset outside, I wouldn't have even known that I had fallen asleep. Guilmon was asleep beside me, his mouth slightly ajar. On the floor in front of me, Lopmon and Terriermon were still reading furiously, but from the amount of pages that they had finished with, it seemed that they had only been reading for about an hour.

The library below us was virtually empty, and it looked like it would be closing soon. Then again, I still knew next to nothing about the Digital World, so anything could happen. At any rate, I leaned over and looked down at the two little digimon and asked, "how's it been going?"

Both of them looked up at me with baggy eyes. "This is the most boring book I have ever read," Terriermon groaned. "We still haven't found anything about where the Gates are, and we've been reading almost non-stop."

Lopmon was just as tired, but she did a better job of making sure that she didn't seem that annoyed. "It _is_ pretty bad," she said, her eyes taking another glance at the paper. "If Guilmon hadn't taken over for a while, we'd be just as asleep as you were."

I felt a bit guilty, but after all that had happened since I found Guilmon again, I knew that they didn't mind. "So, if it hasn't said where the Gates are, what has it been saying?"

"Well, from what we've already read," Lopmon said, showing me the thin pack of paper that they had already been through, "it just has been talking about the creation of the Gates, and then for the past couple of pages what power created the Gates."

I nodded slowly, then looked around the library. "It must be closing soon," I said, resting their reactions.

"Yeah," Terriermon said, "thank goodness for that. Come on; let's get you back to Leomon's bar. He must be wondering where you've been."

"Good idea," I added, turning over to Guilmon and pushing him awake. "Come on, Guilmon, let's go back."

Guilmon started; he must've been deep in a dream, but he was happy to wake up. "Is the book over yet?" he asked slowly.

"Of course not," Terriermon snapped, "we've only been here half the day! You need to go back to the bar and get some real sleep."

He happily complied just before his stomach gave a loud rumble. "And maybe some dinner," he added, smiling.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I realised that Terriermon still had the book with him. That's when I asked, "do we need to sign out this book?"

Lopmon tilted her head in confusion. "Sign out books?" she asked. "We can just take them with us if we return them later."

"And no one steals the books?" I asked. In my world that never would've been acceptable.

"Why would they?" Terriermon asked. "If they stole a book, they'd have to carry it around with them. Besides, there's always another library in the next village."

That made sense to me. I wondered why humans were never like that in my world, but then I had just answered my own questions: humans were human.

Terriermon and Lopmon came all the way back with us, making sure that we got back all right. Then, when we came in, we found that there were still several digimon in the bar, and Leomon was still behind the counter serving. He saw us come in and he waved, but he was still clearly too busy to deal with us on a personal level. We did, however, come up to a set of empty bar stools and wait for him to be free for a minute.

"Can I get you four some supper?" he asked quickly, the cloth in his hand furiously scrubbing a glass in the other.

"Yes please," Guilmon replied, his eyes brightening.

I also nodded, but Lopmon and Terriermon both shook their heads. "Thank-you for the offer," Lopmon said, "but we should be getting home. We just wanted to make sure that Ian and Guilmon got back here all right."

Terriermon looked over to me and dropped the book in my lap. "We can come over in the morning, though, and help with the book again."

"Great!" I exclaimed while Leomon went to get some dinner. "We'll see you then. Thanks for all your help today."

They both nodded, then hopped down from mine and Guilmon's shoulders and left the building. When they were gone, I turned to Guilmon and said, "they sure are nice, aren't they? I guess they must've digivolved from whatever the Crest did, otherwise they'd probably never have shown up."

Guilmon shook his head with a smile on his face. "Of course not, Ian-mon," he said. "Everyone is interested in you. _I_ was particularly interested in you before I even met you! Most of the digimon, though, are just too nervous to say anything. Human children have only ever shown up in the Digital World when there was great trouble here, and every time, the Digiworld was nearly destroyed in trying to save it. We're lucky, though. We came before the chaos and have time to be friends before the madness starts."

My eyes widened in surprise at the last part. "You speak so surely of it," I remarked. "Is there no chance that the trouble is just going to pass by or be destroyed before it's a real problem?"

Guilmon took a few seconds to think about it before shaking his head. "Probably not," he replied with a grin. "Don't worry, we'll get through all right, though. Just look at what we've been through already."

I was about to continue talking, but Leomon returned with two plates of roast beef and roasted potatoes. Both were covered with puddles of gravy, and the smell from it was heavenly. "You could take those to your room, if you like," Leomon said. "The real crowd still hasn't come yet, and we don't close for another few hours yet."

I nodded, grateful. "Thanks," I said.

"Don't be shy to come out, though," he added. "I don't let things get out of control in my bar."

"We won't be," Guilmon replied, picking up his plate.

The two of us made our way to the bedroom quite fast, and as soon as I closed the door, the other room became a bit quieter. I couldn't help but stop to listen with my ear against the door as one digimon started to speak.

"So that's the digidestined we've been hearing about?" one asked. "He doesn't look like much. He's even lame!" I knew that he was referring to my ankle there. "Do we even know what kind of trouble is supposed to be coming?"

"He's so small, too!" another one added. "It's no wonder he's lame after one battle! What's so special about him anyway?"

"He did make some of us digivolve," one more stated firmly. "Does that qualify as special?"

"There's still no real danger to be saved from!" the first voice said indignantly.

"What about Dragomon?" Leomon asked gravely. "Without the human child, we would all be destroyed or have fled by now. He's already saved an entire city from great calamity and you're trying to strike him down?"

"_Thank-you, Leomon," _I thought with a sigh, sinking down the door. In front of me, Guilmon was stuffing his face with his dinner.

"I don't think he'd have had the power to take over the entire Digital World," the second voice said. "It's not like it couldn't have eventually been stopped."

A fourth digimon sighed deeply. "I don't think that he deserves all this attention that he's been getting," he said. Leomon growled a bit here, but remained quiet otherwise. "All I'm saying is that defeating one digimon isn't like saving the world! I think we've thoroughly overestimated him so far."

From there the conversation became a jumble as other digimon started to pipe up with their ideas. Whatever the case, I was here, in my room, with my best friend, a hot plate of food and a book that could lead me to my future.

I picked up my knife a fork and started eating, Guilmon already half-done.

When we were finished, Guilmon and I took out plates back to the bar, thanked Leomon, then returned to our room. While we were in the main room, the subjects suddenly turned to the weather or something else entirely fake, but I didn't bother in trying to care.

Outside, the sun had sunk well below the horizon and the sky had only a hint of light where the sun sank. Stars were starting to show, and my eyes were starting to get droopy. My stomach was full, I had actually accomplished at least some work today, and there was a big, comfy bed waiting for me.

Both Guilmon and I hopped in, me pulling the sheet up. "Thank-you for your help today," I said suddenly. "I heard that you did a good deal of work on your own. Just think, it couldn't be more than a week before we know where we're going."

Guilmon put an arm over my side. "I'm anticipating it," he said slowly. "We're going to have a plan other than just waiting around here. You ankle might even be better by then."

I sighed, knowing that it took roughly six weeks for a bone to mend, even with the best treatment. At any rate, his enthusiasm was inspiring, and I tried to believe it myself.

For the next few days, Guilmon, Terriermon, Lopmon and I spent almost every waking hour flipping through pages of the book. At the end of every day, my mind felt like jelly and I was far too eager to get to sleep to notice all the digimon in the bar that were talking about me. When none of us could read another word, though, we would leave the library and walk around the town and just meander through shops. We never went out long, though, because we knew that the book needed to be finished in order to keep going.

I felt like I was finally where I belonged for the first time in my life. These people were my friends and they needed me just as I needed them. It was great finally having a best friend that knew me for who I really was, and not just one part of me. Not like it was my old friends' fault, I just never felt like I could tell them _everything_. I would never tell them all the weird stuff with all the normal stuff, like my dreams or my favourite type of random thing, but Guilmon was always there to listen to everything.

I still had nightmares every night, but they were no worse than the first ones I had experienced since coming to this world.

I had had two brothers in my world, too, but neither of them were as good of brothers as Guilmon was. The two of us were inseparable, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.

The book, however, wasn't being as friendly. We had already spent the larger part of a week reading it, and we had made hardly any progress. Well, hardly any progress in my eyes. Terriermon and Lopmon were so happy when we reached the middle part of the book, so I didn't rain on their parade. By the end of the week, though, there was only a quarter left to the book, and I was getting eager to reach the end. It had been filled to the brim with dry and boring material, making my history books from my own world start to seem interesting. Needless to say, though, we did learn a lot about the Gates of Fire. The book had revealed to us the creation of the Gates, and the purpose that they served. Originally, the Gate had been an attempt to create a portal (this is severely paraphrased, mind you) to step into the afterlife. The digimon who had created them had lived at the very beginning of the Digital World, when the world itself had been fresh and untainted. It was a simple matter, really; all it involved was bending the fabric of space a little, nothing that a bit of effort couldn't perform. Digimon all over the world had been intrigued by this idea and many of them came to see it happen. When the creators ran out of energy when performing this task, they asked for the other digimon to lend them some. Thus, the fabric was bent, but it was not what they had been seeking. When the space cracked open to create a portal, they saw not a hole, but instead a burst of unceasing flames shot out at them. This fire, though, did not burn them, nor harm them in any way. Instead, it somehow captured them and pulled them into the fire. Days later, when the other digimon had begun to lose hope, the creators returned, but they were no longer themselves. Their data was unstable, and they would often fade out of themselves (this part of the book was particularly vexing and we pulled very few conclusions from it). It took many years for their data to become stable again, and when it did, they were clearly not the same digimon anymore. When they went to continue research on the anomaly, they found that their Gateway had been raised to the skies and concealed in a giant mountain. Taking it as a bad omen to return, they spread the word that the mountain would devour the soul of whoever was dumb enough to enter it.

We had gone slightly farther than that, because the talk of mountains led us to thinking that we would find a name for it, but this proved to be false as the information line had completely changed. There had been many, many other tedious, boring facts to the events, but none of them were worth even remembering.

On the eighth day of work, Guilmon and I returned to the bar at our regular time: sunset. It was nice not being on a clock, or having to be somewhere with no exception. However, when we did get back, the bar was far more crowded than usual. It was busier than it was near the end of the night, and it was only just about dark. We spotted Leomon behind the counter dealing out drinks and meals almost too fast to tell whom he was giving what to. Plus, when we wanted to find a seat at the counter, there wasn't a single empty stool, and the rest of the bar was just as full.

Fifteen minutes of loud chatter and laughing found us two empty stools in the middle of the counter, and Guilmon and I quickly filled them. By now even I was starting to feel a bit hungry, and Guilmon was almost falling over from hunger. I knew, though, that it was only because he wasn't trying to ward it off. After three days in a desert without food, I knew that he could if he wanted to.

Leomon spotted us and did his best to dart over to us. He was interrupted, though, by two people who wanted another drink. He absentmindedly gave them random drinks, but they didn't seem to mind or even notice.

When he did finally get to us, he was out of breath and he looked like he had been standing on his feet for too long. "I'm sorry I took so long," he panted, avoiding eye contact with any of the other customers. "I'm completely swamped tonight. I don't know that all the hubbub is, but I just hope that it doesn't get into anything ugly. But anyway, would you two like some dinner? I'm afraid there isn't as much as there usually is."

"Whatever you've got!" Guilmon said with a smile.

This made Leomon smile too. "I wouldn't have expected anything less from you, Guilmon." He looked to me, and I was nodding in agreement. Leomon made a quick run into the kitchen, completely ignoring the customers who were calling out to him. It was only a short trip, and he returned with two plates of steaming mashed potatoes and a slab of meatloaf each.

"Thanks, Leomon," I said, trying to take up as little time as possible. "Don't let them go crazy!"

The lion digimon grimaced a little as two more digimon came into the bar. "I might even have to close early tonight," he said quietly, trying his best to smile again. He was called away by five more digimon who were also demanding drinks. With a giant sigh, he started off again with his work.

Guilmon and I finished our meals in no time, and we went back to return the plates. We only made it half way to the bar, though, when a digimon sitting on the couch grabbed my arm, bringing us to a halt. It was clear before even smelling the rancid odour that came out of his mouth that he was drunk. "Why if it isn't the lame digidestined," he said, his words slurring. The digimon looked like an overweight crocodile morph. He had a sharp array of teeth and many spiked collars around his neck, arms, legs and even one on his tail. His grip on my arm was painfully tight. "Still freeloading, eh?" He chuckled heartily to himself.

My mouth tried to form into a half-smile, but this guy was just too creepy. "Leomon is very generous," I said, trying to break free of the digimon's grip. Beside me, Guilmon was still as stone, his eyes never leaving the drunken digimon.

"Have you stomped out the evil demons yet?" he asked. "Have you saved all our lives yet? I doubt it… Who picked a lame digidestined anyway? From what I see, you've just been hanging around town all day."

"Well," I stuttered, trying again to break free of the digimon's grasp, "I can't do very much travelling with my broken ankle…"

That's when it got much weirder. The digimon jerked me closer to him, his free hand darting to the Crest of Life around my neck. Guilmon growled, but the digimon ignored him entirely. "How can you make me digivolve?" he asked, looking up to me with his beady eyes.

My eyes were wide in fear now, my left hand holding onto Guilmon's right one, my other still clinging onto the plate. "I… I don't really…"

Then the digimon got really angry. In one motion he was standing up, towering three feet over me, then his hand that was holding my arm switched to my neck and lifted me up in the air. Guilmon roared and lunged at him, but he simply swatted Guilmon to the floor. A few other digimon started to notice what was going on. "I want to digivolve, damn it!" he roared, his grip cutting off my air passage. "Make me digivolve!"

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

A blast of energy came pelting out from behind the counter, blasting into the drunken digimon. He dropped me in surprise before being blasted across the room into the wall with a crash. I landed on the floor on my side, a wave of pain surging up my ankle with the crashing of the plates.

"Get out!" Leomon roared, leaping over the counter and lunging at the digimon. He grabbed him by the back, marched over to the doors then threw him out the doors. "And don't ever try to come in here again!" He glared at the other digimon in the room who had all become silent. "I think it's time that I closed up for the night," he said, trying to keep his voice low.

The other digimon nodded in compliance, and as Leomon made his way over to Guilmon and I, the digimon started to file out of the bar.

"Are you all right?" he asked me after checking on my ankle.

I nodded slowly, still in shock from what had just transpired.

He then moved to Guilmon who was just as okay as I was. Once Guilmon was on his feet, the two of them helped me up and then Leomon led us to our room. When he had us sitting on the bed, he started talking. "If that digimon ever talks to you or comes near either of you again, I want you to come and find me. His name is Golligamon, and he is known for causing lots of trouble. In fact, while we're at it, if anyone gives you any trouble, don't hesitate to back off, call for help, or even just run away. I may have work, but it's not as important as your safety."

Only when both of us promised to do so did he leave us. He said that he would go and clean up, but that we should get some sleep. We both thanked him as he left the room, but we decided that he was right. Sleep would be best now. I rolled close to Guilmon, the previous events still bothering me, and tried to fall asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Twelve**

_I was walking through a dark cave with rough and jagged walls. My footsteps echoed loudly off the walls letting me know that I was clearly alone. That was all I did: continue walking. There was a purpose to it, but I didn't know it._

_"Where are you going?" a familiar voice asked in a hiss. The voice was unbelievable unpleasant, but only because I recognised it. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"_

_"Of course I am," I replied calmly, not letting my fear show. "Nobody wants you here anyway."_

_"I think that you do," he continued. "I can see that you're far too unsure of what will happen if you do this. You'll never have the gall to do this. You're weak. That's why you need me. Your body will be too unstable without me and you're going to have the same fate as I if you try it."_

_"Better that we both die than we both live," I said vehemently. "My life is nothing in comparison to the damage you could cause. I would rather die than let you do anything to harm Guilmon or anyone else in this world."_

_"You're so naïve," he snarled, anger rising in our chest. "Without me you're nothing but a defenceless and pathetic human. You'll be alone."_

_At this I actually laughed out loud. "You must be mad!" I laughed. "I'm never alone as long as I have Guilmon. He can protect me if I'm so defenceless anyway. You still can't hurt me even emotionally, you worm."_

_"You're pushing it, you rotten child," he growled. "I still have power. You can't neglect that after what I did on the mountain._

_"Well aren't you special?" I said sarcastically._

_Silence fell upon us again, and as I walked, the tunnel became gradually hotter. As I walked further, the tunnel got to be sweltering hot to the point that I was sweating from the heat of it. _"This feels like the desert all over again,"_I thought indignantly. Still, I pressed on. _

_Suddenly, I rounded a corner and saw them._

"_The Gates of Fire," I whispered in awe. "You see that? No more darkness!"_

_No voice returned my cockiness. _

_There I stopped and knelt in a prayer position, but instead of my palms together, I folded my arms in front of me to form a rectangle, my right forearm resting on top of my left forearm. _"Take this soul," _I wished valiantly. _"I give it up freely, in hoping to quell the darkness of the Digital World."

"_You don't want to do that," he dared suddenly._

"_Or what?" I asked snidely._

_He chuckled darkly. "I still have power, as I said before. I can make far more pain than death. You just try it; you know I will."_

_Out of nowhere, I smiled. The smile turned into a bit of a laugh, then finally into all out laughter. When I stopped, I could feel his resentment it was so strong. "You know what?" I asked indifferently. "I don't care. If getting rid of you even causes me to die, then it's worth it." I looked up to the blazing fires while he tried to argue with me. "TAKE THIS SOUL!" I roared to the fires. "I GIVE IT UP FREELY!"_

"_YOU FOOL!" he snarled._

"_TAKE THIS SOUL!"_

_The fires roared back at me, blasting forwards and consuming me. It felt like the desert again, but I wasn't afraid anymore. There was a light tingling from all over my body, and I could see the darkness hovering around my body, being torn out by the flames._

"_BURN!" he screeched. _

_Pain – unimaginable pain – seared through my entire being, grating at every organ, every bone and every vein. My blood felt like it was boiling, and my bones felt like they were being scratched at with knives. My skin… my skin felt as if it was being peeled off layer by layer. A scream was wrenched from my lips as the pain started to really seep in. This was worse than death; this was worse than torture. Death would be mercy to this. _

_A smack to the head from nothing and then scratches on my face. These weren't just feelings anymore. These were real. Blood leaked down my face, blotting my vision as my hair was torn at. Then, some invisible force like the one that had cut me, kicked me in the gut, knocking whatever little air that was left in my body out. _

_The scream was eternity._

_The pain was unceasing._

_This was my reality: Darkness in its final hour will vanquish Life. _

_Then came a cooling glow. There was still pain, but it subsided enough for my thoughts to process. I looked down to the light and found that the Crest of Life was glowing again. It started to drive out the darkness, pushing it farther into the fire. _

_I heard him screaming, and I took delight in it. Not for revelling in his pain, but for what it meant for the world._

"_We're saved," I whispered._

_And then there was nothing. _

_The flames were gone, the darkness was gone… all that was left was me in an empty tunnel. _

_Blood still clotted my vision, my breathing was pained, and everything stung terribly, but it was over. _

"_Guilmon," I whispered._

I opened my eyes to find myself sprawled out over the bed and my upper body lying on Guilmon. He was still asleep, but then the sun was barely up so it didn't matter.

After rubbing my eyes, I tried to remember the dream I had been having. There had been a tunnel… and fire? I couldn't remember it. It was already leaving me and I had just awoken. At least it hadn't been another night terror.

I sighed, my head in a comfortable niche in Guilmon's shoulder. Never before had I been so comfortable with someone. Sure, a few of my friends from my world had been pillows and vice-versa, but not to the point of actually falling asleep on them.

From behind the door I could hear Leomon making breakfast. It was then that I remembered the attack from the night before. _"Is everything alright? I hope that he doesn't lose his good business because of me…"_

Guilmon's tail twitched and I heard his stomach growl, and then he was awake. We sat up and looked out the window at the sunlight that was glowing over the city. "Good-morning," he said sleepily.

"Morning, Guilmon," I said, patting him on the shoulder as I stuck my feet out of bed. My bad foot was still tender, but it seemed to be getting way better. Then Guilmon walked over to my side of the bed and helped me up, still the living version of a crutch.

I still don't know what it is about the Digital World, but I feel more at home than I ever have. Everything here is just so right even when it's not.

At any rate, when we both sat down at the stools, breakfast was almost done. Leomon seemed happy enough, but I couldn't tell if he was _really_ happy, or just faking it for our sake. "And how did everyone sleep last night?" he asked. On two occasions he had awoken to my screaming and found me still deep in sleep.

We both nodded. "Good," Guilmon said.

"No nightmares last night," I said jovially.

Guilmon was surprised at this, but he didn't press it.

"That's good to hear," Leomon said, piling fried eggs onto two plates. "Or rather, not hear." He chuckled a bit to himself.

I smiled at the pun, but my eyes darted to breakfast. Fried eggs, toast with peanut butter and yoghurt. It looked unbelievably healthy, and I was strangely excited about it. Not that we had been eating unhealthy meals, I just liked how plainly healthy it was. Carbohydrate breakfast. "Looks great, Leomon," I said, picking up my knife and fork.

When we were done, we headed out once again to the library, the heavy book under my free arm.

Terriermon and Lopmon didn't show up until an hour after we got there, but we had left earlier than we normally did, so I wasn't surprised. We had some quick idle chit-chat, but we got to work quickly.

By lunchtime, I thought we had made some considerable progress, although we didn't learn anything that was particularly helpful. We decided to go out for lunch, but since I didn't know any of the shops, Lopmon and Terriermon showed us around.

When we came to a small little coffee shop, we stopped there and sat down at one of the six tables. The place was called 'Applethorn's,' and it only had one other table filled.

I got a tasty Ruben on Rye, Guilmon got a small pizza, and Terriermon and Lopmon both got a salad. We ate quietly, trying not to disturb the peace of such a quaint place, but Terriermon had to break it.

"Don't look now, but I think that Golligamon has been watching us," he said, his eyes suggesting the storefront window.

"Who?" I asked, not daring to turn my head.

"Look now," he said in a flash, "he's got his head turned."

I glanced back, Guilmon's gaze following, and our eyes came to rest on the digimon who had caused the trouble at the bar the night previous. We whipped back into place, a pained expression on our faces. "Saw him," Guilmon spat.

"Do you know who he is?" Lopmon asked, noticing our faces.

I nodded, the quickly recounted the story of last night. Both of the little digimon were quite perturbed. "Shouldn't we get out of here then?" Lopmon asked, a little worried. Overall she seemed much more mature than Terriermon.

"Why?" I asked. "I don't want some drunk to spoil our work."

"We can work at the bar," Terriermon pointed out.

A deep sigh poured from my mouth, my eyes rolling in annoyance. "Fine," I said, giving in.

"Let's try and lose him," Guilmon suggested, a smile coming to his face.

"Now Guilmon," Lopmon warned, "let's not go looking for trouble."

"There's a back door," Terriermon said. "Pretend like you're going to the washroom. We'll follow in a minute. Wait for us at the end of the hallway."

I shared Guilmon's grin, looking to him. "Can you help me to the washroom?" I asked, pushing my chair out a bit.

Guilmon got up and helped me walk to the hallway. It was a short one, only a few metres long, but it was enough to get out of Golligamon's eyesight. We paced down past the three doorways: Girls, Boys and Staff washrooms, and made it to the end of the hall where we found a last door with an exit sign on it.

It was only a couple minutes before Terriermon and Lopmon joined us, our smile only reflecting on Terriermon's face. Lopmon seemed a bit more nervous than she should've been, but she was usually like that. "Come on," Terriermon said in a hurry, pushing at the door. "It won't be long before fatso out there realises we're not coming back." The door swung all the way open and we moved swiftly through it, finding ourselves in a back alley. When my hopping became pained as we tried to pick up the pace, Guilmon again plucked me off the ground and onto his back and caught up with the other two who were already at the end of the alley looking onto the street.

"Thanks," I said in a hush as Guilmon's head rounded the corner.

"No problem," he replied, following the two little digimon out of the alley towards Leomon's bar.

It only took five minutes at the most to get to the bar, and when we came in there were only a few digimon scattered over the room. Leomon looked up from behind the bar, knowing immediately that something was wrong. "What's up?" he asked, motioning us to sit down at the stools in front of him.

Once we were sitting, Lopmon explained about Golligamon.

Leomon punched the counter upon hearing this, a visible dent left in it. "I knew something would happen," he snarled. "I just knew it! Now all of you are involved in it too!" His frustration was blatantly apparent.

"It's okay, Leomon," Terriermon said, being more adult-like for a moment. "We're good enough to keep away from him."

"Of course," Guilmon added. "I can protect of Ian-mon."

"I'm not questioning that," Leomon sighed. "It's the principle here."

"I know," Lopmon said in an attempt to console the lion digimon. "It's difficult, but we can keep out of trouble."

He left for a moment to fill up another digimon's glass, then returned with a new face. "If Golligamon is ever following you, or if anyone suspicious is doing that, you need to come back here. I don't want to see you getting into trouble on my account."

We all nodded in agreement. None of us wanted anything to happen either. From there we went to the bedroom; we had left the book in the library in planning to return to it, but is seemed that we would have to wait a while before we could go and get it.

I slumped down onto the bed and sighed deeply. "What if they're watching the bar?" I asked suddenly. Guilmon was also lying on the bed with Terriermon and Lopmon at the foot of it.

"Then we'll have to fight," Guilmon replied. "They can't keep us here forever."

"But last time we tried to fight, you couldn't digivolve!" I exclaimed. "What happens if you still can't?"

He smiled. "I'm strong in this form," he said. "You don't need to worry about me."

Another sigh escaped my lips. There wasn't anything I could do about that. _"If only I knew how to make him digivolve… but that's not the right thing to do. It's him; it's his body; I don't own him. We're partners, that's why we're supposed to work together. And what have I done?" _I knew that was just too dramatic, though. _"Well, I have helped, I guess. I did carry him to safety from the mountain. And I did help him in the desert… I suppose those count. But he's saved my life so many more times! In the first ten minutes of knowing him, he saved me at least three times! And then he brought me here, which was the greatest gift anyone's ever given me. Maybe I shouldn't be looking at debts, though. At any rate, this is far too off topic." _"I just don't want anything to happen to you," I sighed.

"And it won't if you're there to help," he said. "We're partners. I save you, you save me, we save the Digital World. It's not as complicated as you're letting yourself believe."

"_How is he so right? I thought I was supposed to be the realistic one." _I smiled, my confidence building up in me.

"And if you've got friends like us looking out for you," Terriermon piped up, "then you've got nothing to worry about."

After a while, the subject turned to my world and where I had come from.

"Is it true that there are millions of human children in your world?" Lopmon asked in awe. Apparently in the Digital World, humans were revered and sometimes thought of as legend.

I shook my head with a smile. "Nope," I answered, "there are _billions_ of us. All over the planet in different colours, religions and languages. It's quite amazing really once you take the time to look at it."

"Do you think you'd ever take us there?" Terriermon asked.

My face and voice became very serious here. "No," I replied. "I don't think that I would."

"Why not?" he asked, looking up from the bed at me.

My eyes grew distant and clouded as I thought back to that world and what I had learned on the Trainmon. _"My world is too slow for me now. Even if I wanted to go back, I wouldn't know how. BUT I DON'T! So I won't think about it."_ "Because," I said slowly, "I could never take the risk of not being able to come back here. I don't want to leave this world. Your world."

The two little digimon looked at each other in confusion. "Don't you ever want to go and visit your friends and family?" Lopmon asked.

I sighed yet again, then looked out the window. Brushing the hair out of my face, I continued. "I had many friends in my world," I said quietly, "but they wouldn't understand me anymore. I really enjoyed being there with them, but I think it was because I still hadn't found the right friends. As for my family…" I shuddered. "I wouldn't return to them if they paid me. My first day here in the Digital World, I was attacked by a swarm of little puffballs called Pagumon and became covered in cuts and bruises. Then I spent the night in a cave with a stranger. From the second I woke up, I knew that I was _really_ home. I don't want to go back, and I hope that I never have to. I'd rather face ten Dragomon alone then have to return. I don't think that I loved my family anyway."

Here, Guilmon looked at me, then leaned his head on my chest. "Don't worry, Ian-mon," he said, joining the hush. "We're your family now."

A tear reached my eye, and after I wiped it away, I embraced Guilmon tightly. "Thank-you, Guilmon," I said. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

When the sun started to set, Lopmon and Terriermon decided to return home. They were given explicit instructions from Leomon to avoid danger at all costs. Even though Golligamon probably wasn't after them, it wasn't impossible that he would use them as bait to lure their real prey out.

Once they were gone, Leomon made up some dinner for Guilmon and I before returning to work. Since the ordeal last night, there weren't many customers in the bar, and even fewer had been there the night before.

Night came, and Guilmon and I were both in bed when Leomon entered the room. He was still working, as there were still a few stray customers left, but they would be good on their own for a while. He sat down on the end of the bed and looked at us with a sad look on his face. It took him a moment to do anything, and at that case, he spoke.

"I just want to take a bit more time to talk to you about the danger," he said, his gaze falling to the floor. "Golligamon, even though the two of you could probably beat him on your own, has many allies on the street. Although he may not have much power on his own, he has many people who support him and they will probably be on the lookout for you too. That means that you're not just looking out for Golligamon, but also for anyone else who might be looking at you funny. Don't take any chances; there are powerful digimon out there, and you're a human child and a rookie digimon. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

"Don't worry," I said again. "We'll be fine. We've got Lopmon and Terriermon with us too, so I think that we're pretty well safe. _But_, I'll be on the lookout anyway."

"Thank-you," Leomon said in a sigh. He stood up, bade us good-night, then closed the door and returned to work.

I looked to Guilmon who was already staring at the ceiling, ready for sleep. "Do you think we're in any trouble?" I asked, lying down beside him and pulling the sheet up.

"Probably," he responded. "But it couldn't be anything worse than what we've already been through."

"Yeah," I went on, "but then you could digivolve. What would happen if another champion level digimon attacked us?"

"Then I'd just have to defeat them," he said with a grin. "You've got to see that these people are nothing. These digimon can't digivolve because they don't have a human partner to help them. That's what makes us stronger than all of them."

"But those other digimon," I pointed out, "when we were fighting Dragomon; they digivolved."

"Because of your Crest," he said gently, putting a claw on it for a moment. "We needed help, so you helped them digivolve. It's the same idea, just on a larger scale."

"I guess I just don't understand," I sighed, holding up the tag and Crest before my eyes. "How can this object make them digivolve? It's inanimate; it doesn't make any sense."

"It will in the end," Guilmon said, closing his eyes to sleep.

I tilted my head and looked at him. My mouth stayed closed for a moment, but then I had to ask. "What end?"

But Guilmon was fast asleep.

"_You surprise me, Guilmon," _I thought. _"Sometimes you're more childish than I am, and then at other times you're far more mature than I probably ever will be."_ My eyes closed also, trying to fall asleep. _"In the end… I hope that's far away as much as I wish it were here. This adventure just can't end, but then if it doesn't, how will I ever understand it?"_


	13. Chapter 13

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Thirteen**

That night had some of the most revolting things I had ever seen. There had been mostly darkness, but lurking within it were convoluted monsters, dripping with slime and drool. Bodies lay scattered throughout the dream, either already torn apart with their guts and vital organs displayed hideously, or in the process of becoming that way by the monsters that were around them. Whether the bodies were human, digimon, or any other random monsters, there had been no mercy. The last monster that I had seen before waking up had been glaring at me with a human body (well, the torso looked like it had been flipped inside out) lying in its jaws, some of the giant teeth skewering the body.

When I did wake up, I flew from the room and into the bathroom where I let the last of my stomach contents disappear into the toilet. Wiping the bile from my lips, I went to the sink and washed my mouth out. Looking up into the mirror, I found that I did not recognise the person looking back at me.

Tentatively, I reached my hand out to the mirror, touching it where my face reflected off of it. My face was skinnier, more weathered than I remembered it from my own world. The hair that fell down onto my shoulders was bleached orange in many places from the sun, and my skin had been tanned several shades darker. I took off my shirt to find that my entire body had changed: my stomach was flat with a couple of abdominal muscles and my arms were no longer the skinny rails that they had been in my own world. My entire body was toned, and I was content with what I saw. _"This would be from carrying Guilmon around when I could, I assume." _My whole look seemed different. I was happier; my eyes had a new glow to them that had never been there before. _"The Digital World is shaping me into who I should've been my whole life."_

I put my shirt back on and buttoned it up, then started towards the door.

That's when I realised that something else was different. I looked down to my feet and found that I was walking comfortably on both of them. When I leaned down and poked it, it was still a bit tender, but nonetheless, I was walking!

My previously bad leg seemed much weaker than the other one, but that was simply from not using it for the past week and a bit. I let out a small squeal of joy, then left the washroom and returned to the bedroom. The sun was still down, but the sky was already brightening. I hadn't seen Leomon up, but then he might've been awake, just not behind the counter. I didn't know what he did when he wasn't at the bar, but I hadn't taken the time to find out either.

At any rate, I still returned to the bed and tried to calm myself down. The horrific images were still flashing occasionally through my mind, but I was quelling them with the thought of how I had changed.

I soon drifted into a half-sleep and let my mind wander. I thought back to some of the terrible nightmares I had had, and I still froze in shock at the thought of them. Then it came to Guilmon and the Digital World in general. _"He's the best friend I've ever had. Out of all the digimon in this world, he was the one chosen to come and find me in the human world. What would've happened if I hadn't seen the battle? The Digital World wouldn't even exist to me anymore. I've met so many nice people…" _My thoughts went to Gabumon, Wolfemon, Gennai, Leomon, Terriermon and Lopmon. _"They've all been so kind. How is it that a world so perfect can be imperfect in so many ways? How are there such good digimon, but at the same time, such bad digimon? I guess that that just proves that there's not such thing as perfection."_

Finally, I let my eyelids droop down all the way, and then I was asleep again.

It was quite later in the morning when I awoke again. Leomon was knocking softly on the door waking both me and Guilmon up. We both got up and Guilmon immediately realised that I could walk on my own again. It was a quick rejoice, but we went out to breakfast before we did any real thinking about it.

Leomon was waiting patiently for us with the plates sitting on the counter. It was another healthy breakfast, and I was extremely grateful for it. He too noticed that I wasn't getting help to walk anymore. "I see that you've healed up quickly," he said. "That's good news."

I nodded, sitting down next to Guilmon on the stools. "I'm just surprised that it took so little time to heal. In my world it should've taken about six weeks, not one and a half."

"Well, things work differently in the Digital World," Leomon stated. "But I'm sure you already know that."

A quick smile touched my lips before I started eating.

Before we left, Leomon reminded us to be on the lookout for danger. "Almost anyone could be working for him," Leomon said, watching both of us leave the bar. "Be careful!"

We waved back to him, then made our way to the library once more.

The day went by way faster than any of the others. Even though the reading was painfully slow, and I did put in my fair share of it, the time around us went racing by until before I knew it, it was time for lunch. My mind was buzzing with the new information we had just read, so I didn't really pay attention to where we were going.

When I actually processed our whereabouts, I found that we were standing in front of an old-fashioned looking pub. We went in, and I was sure that that's what it was. There was the bar in the middle of the place with a chef/bartender within it, and around the bar were booths for eating, only a few of which were occupied. A little digimon who looked a bit like an anteater with the legs of a genie was floating around taking orders and serving meals. The chef, however, was a giant egg with legs and eyes.

"That's Digitammamon," Guilmon whispered. "He's got a very short temper, but he's friendly otherwise."

"Thanks," I said back, walking forwards into the bar with them.

We sat at a booth near the door and beside a window and waited for the waiter to come by.

He was quite fast due to the lack of customers, and he came with four menus for us. "Good afternoon," he said in a timid voice. "My name is Tapirmon, I'll be your server today. Our special today is the club sandwich." He passed out the menus, but I didn't need to look at mine. "Can I offer you drinks while you choose what you'd like?"

"Water, please," I said. Guilmon, Terriermon and Lopmon gave the same answer.

Even though I knew that I would have the special, I looked through the menu anyway. It wasn't much different than a menu at any other restaurant in my world, but it did have a few things in it that I didn't recognise. Like 'Slamwha.' According to Terriermon, it didn't taste good anyway, so I wouldn't need to bother trying it.

Tapirmon came back with our waters and handed them out and collected our orders. Guilmon wanted a burger, Lopmon wanted a plate of plain pasta and Terriermon ordered a bowl of beef-vegetable soup.

We talked quietly about our findings in the book while we waited for our orders, but he was fast again and brought us our meals.

Lunch was finished before I knew it, and we were back off to the library.

We decided to finish early today. There was still about an hour of sunlight left when we closed the book with only a couple hundred pages left. I guessed from our current progress that we would be done it two days at the most.

Once we left the library, we settled on going to the park to just have fun for a while. It was only a short walk away anyway, and now that my foot was better, it took even less time. Lopmon and Terriermon still rode on mine and Guilmon's shoulders, but we were used to it now. Pretty much anywhere we went they travelled like that; it had become habit.

The park was almost empty when we got there. There were only a couple digimon left there at all, and all of them were couples and all of them were near the fountain sitting on benches.

We, however, wanted to go to the forest part of the park. We hadn't been back to the park since my first real day in the city, and we still had yet to see what it was like.

Terriermon and Lopmon hopped off our shoulders and ran into the field, chasing after each other around the grass that was half as tall as them. Enticed by the fun they were having, Guilmon jumped into the field too, looking back and waving me in. "I bet you can't catch me!" he laughed, tilting down to the ground and doing a quick summersault.

"I bet you're wrong!" I shouted back, darting into the field after him. He soon realised that even though I had had a broken ankle, I still could move pretty fast. I had changed a lot since we had been running away from the dragon monster on our way to the Temple of Life, and I could almost catch up with him.

At one point, Lopmon and Terriermon had run in front of me, cutting me off, but instead of stopping and letting Guilmon get farther ahead, I simply leapt over them, clearing their short bodies with ease. They let out an extra burst of laughter as I flew over them, but soon returned to chasing each other.

As we neared the forest, Guilmon started to turn, which was what I had been waiting for. As he turned, I turned sharper and lunged at him, colliding into him in very much the same way he had to me when we first met. Then we were rolling on the ground, struggling to be on top, but in the end, Guilmon bested me, pinning my arms to the ground.

Now we were both out of breath and he collapsed on the ground beside me. "You've become way faster," he panted.

"Thanks," I replied in an equally as out of breath tone. "You're going to have to get better now."

We smiled and started laughing, waiting for our breaths to come back.

That's when I realised that I couldn't hear Lopmon and Terriermon anymore. I looked up in alarm and scanned the field. What I found tore a yelp of shock from my mouth. There was a tall digimon dressed like a Chinese soldier with a broadsword on his back, and he was holding both of them by their heads, his fingers covering their mouths. "Put them down!" I roared, scrambling to my feet with Guilmon by my side.

"Musyamon, champion," he whispered to me, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Surrender yourself to me," he replied with a booming voice. "There are many people looking for you, if you attempt to escape me, these two will die and you will be caught by one of the others who are now around all the exits of the park."

My hand brushed over my digivice which I had been keeping attached to my waistband. _"Guilmon still can't digivolve, can he?"_ "What would you do with me if I did?"

Guilmon looked at me in shock. "No," he said in a hush. "You can't do that!"

"I would first take you to Golligamon, who is the closest one that wants you," he answered. "There are many others who want your head, though, so the best offer would come next."

My eyes widened in surprise. _"Is there any other choice? We can't fight him if he's a champion, and if Guilmon attacked anyway, he could hit Terriermon or Lopmon!" _I took a step forwards and Guilmon grabbed my arm to stop me. My head flicked towards him.

"You can't," he pleaded. "You can't!"

"There isn't any other choice!" I hissed, trying to pull free from his grasp. "He hasn't left us any other option!"

"He's going to kill you!" he exclaimed. "You know that, and you're still going forwards?"

"Guilmon," I said, my eyes dropping to the ground. "You have to trust me."

His grasp reluctantly loosened and I pried my arm free.

I continued to Musyamon, my legs as heavy as lead. The digimon was only about a foot taller than me and he looked a lot like a human. As I drew neared, I could hear Terriermon and Lopmon struggling to get free, and I could see them looking at me with shocked faces. A few more steps and I was standing in front of him, my eyes defiantly meeting his. "What a good human," he smirked. "I usually have to take people by force."

"Drop them," I ordered, holding my arms out in front of me in defeat.

He gave a bit of a laugh, then threw both of them several feet in front of him to Guilmon. "There," he snarled. "Time to go."

"Ian!" Terriermon and Lopmon cried in alarm.

I looked back to see three faces, all begging me not to go, not to do this. Then I nodded, a smile coming to my face.

Musyamon grabbed the scruff of my shirt and pulled me forwards, tearing my eyes from my friends. "Move it!" he snapped.

"Get away from me!" I roared, stomping my foot down as hard as I could on the break in his armour between his foot and his ankle. As he howled in pain, I darted back to Guilmon, trying to escape.

This didn't work out to my advantage, however. I heard the unsheathing of his sword within a second and it came smacking into my back, blunt side first, throwing me to the ground. Another cry flew from my mouth as a brilliant glow came from around my neck. Both Lopmon and Terriermon were glowing, then in a blast of golden light, one that made Musyamon hesitate, they had changed. Where Terriermon had been was now a giant rabbit looking digimon with broad shoulders, jeans, and where his hands normally were there were now rail guns. He was huge! Easily seven feet tall, his arms and legs were rippling with muscles. Lopmon, though, was a bit different. She had also grown, but she was much skinnier, more agile looking. She had smaller guns for hands and bright yellow pants.

While Musyamon was staring in shock, I crawled forwards to the three digimon.

"Don't you dare touch him!" they both bellowed, unleashing a wave of bullets.

Keeping as low to the ground as possible, Guilmon darted to me, pulled me to my feet and we raced back behind the two other digimon.

The bullets that were raining down on Musyamon smashed into his armour, many of them bouncing off. He raised his arm, using it as a shield, and ran forwards with his sword in his opposite hand.

"Oh no you don't!" they shouted, still in unison, raising their arms for a new attack. "Bunny Laser!"

Giant waves of green and blue energy blasted out of their guns and collided with Musyamon, throwing him back twice the distance he had covered. When he hit the ground, he started to glow, then disintegrated like Dragomon had.

"Come on," the new Terriermon said, looking back to us. "We need to go and find Leomon."

Guilmon nodded and we all started to the exit. Right before we reached it, though, Terriermon and Lopmon sent out another blast of energy. I didn't even have time to see whom they were aiming at before they were disintegrating.

It was a two-minute run, and we all came bursting into the bar, alarming everyone in there. Leomon looked up at us, his face deadly serious. "What is it?" he asked quickly.

"There's some people who were attacking us," Guilmon spat out, "but Terriermon and Lopmon digivolved into Gargomon and Turuiemon before we were in danger."

Leomon looked around the bar for any danger, then said loudly, "the bar is closing now."

With several loud grumbles, the bar soon emptied out leaving only the five of us. Turuiemon explained what had happened in greater detail while Leomon locked all the doors and windows then drew all the curtains.

"I think that Guilmon and I need to leave the city," I said quietly. "There's been enough trouble caused on our part."

The three others were silent at this point.

I was right.

"You need your sleep, though," Leomon said. "If you're intent on it, you can leave in the early morning."

"Where will you go?" Gargomon asked, looking at us with wide eyes. "We don't want you to leave!"

"I don't know," I answered, looking at Guilmon as I spoke. His feelings were definitely the same as mine in the situation. "I just wish we could've found out where the Gates of Fire were."

"We should head for the plains," Guilmon said, sitting down on a couch. "There's food and water out there, and there's hardly anyone around."

"Should we find Gennai again?" I asked.

"We haven't the first clue of where to look," Guilmon replied. "We might as well just go looking for the Gates of Fire."

I sat down next to Guilmon and put an arm around his shoulders. I could see just as well as him how dim our future looked. "The plains sound good enough for now. We can think of something as we travel."

Leomon stepped in here. "I'm not denying that leaving is the best choice," he said, "no matter how harsh that may seem. There is too much controversy in such a big city like this. But for now, you all need some dinner."

An hour later, Guilmon and I were lying on a couch, trying to get to sleep. The others decided that they would stay up until the sun started to rise, and then they would help us out of the city.

I was so sad about it. We were just getting settled into the city when we have to leave to save our lives. We were leaving three great friends: Leomon, Lopmon and Terriermon, and there was no certainty that we would meet up again.

Before I let the sadness well up inside me, I placed my head on Guilmon's shoulder, my arms sprawled out with one down my side, and one hanging over Guilmon's chest. _"At least Guilmon will always be here."_

Darkness enshrouded the city, and we fell into an uneasy slumber.

"Ian!" Gargomon exclaimed. "Guilmon!" He shook us into wakefulness, then darted to the nearest window to look out it. "The sun will be up in an hour, we have to hurry!"

I rolled off of Guilmon's side and toppled to the floor. That woke me up enough to sit up and rub my eyes before Guilmon fell off the couch too and landed on me. We both scrambled up, apologising to each other, then realised that we needed to move. Leomon had bagels and jam waiting for us and a glass of fruit juice each. We both drained the drinks and grabbed the bagels for the go.

"I wish we didn't have to leave like this," I said sadly, looking up to Leomon. "It's so informal and rushed. Thank-you so much for the hospitality, Leomon. I don't know what we would've done without you." I stuck out my hand awkwardly due to his height.

He knelt down in front of us, then embraced both Guilmon and I. This startled me, since we hadn't spent much time together because of his work. At any rate, he stood back up and said, "I hope that all turns out well for you. You have spirit like I've never seen, and I know that together you will go far. Maybe sometime we'll see each other again, sometime, and I hope that that day comes swiftly."

We both smiled to him. "I hope so too," Guilmon added.

"Turuiemon and I will take you as far as we can go," Gargomon said, heading towards the door. "From there you should be safe to get to the plains."

The door opened and we all froze, but it was just Turuiemon coming back in from scouting. "There are a couple head hunters looking around, but we should be safe if we're fast." She looked to us. "Are you ready?"

Nodding, we followed them to the door. I turned back to Leomon and said, "thanks again, Leomon. I hope we meet up again!" I waved to him as he nodded, words not coming to his mouth.

"Good-bye," he whispered as we went out the door with the other two.

The streets outside were covered in long shadows from the buildings around them, and there was still barely any light out. They were also deserted, something that was quite eerie to both Guilmon and I.

We all stayed close together, making sure that we didn't stray off in the least.

"How far is it to get to the outskirts?" I asked in a hush.

"About a half-hour jog," Turuiemon replied, looking back for a moment at us. "Will your ankle let you jog for that long?"

"It had better," I answered, moving into a jog, Guilmon matching my pace.

We ran for ages, seeing nothing and hearing nothing but our footfalls on the ground. Occasionally there would be a light on in a house or a shop, but it was never anything.

Just as the houses started to thin out, Gargomon looked back at us and said, "we'll be at the borderline in a couple minutes."

I was long out of breath to reply, but I managed to make a noticeable nod. Guilmon was in better shape than I was, but it didn't surprise me in the least. He had longer legs, more muscles, more stamina; he was made to be stronger. It was a sad time, though, for I didn't know if we would ever see Terriermon or Lopmon again. They had been such good friends, and we had barely known each other for a week. They had helped us so much, and now we were leaving them without a real chance to repay them. _"There I go again, looking for a way to get out of debt. I have to realise that some people are just genuinely nice people!"_ I shook some sense into myself, then continued jogging.

In my own world, I had been pretty good a jogging, or at least keeping a steady pace, but I had never really _had_ to. Cross-country became less appealing once I realised that and I found myself turning into a couch potato. Now, though, or at least since me entry to the Digital World, my reason to keep going, to get into the best shape possible, started to form into something necessary.

Suddenly, I realised that we were no longer moving. Gargomon and Turuiemon had stopped and we were standing in front of a long line that separated the city from the rest of the world. It was a thin line, but it was blatantly evident. The even pathway of gravel (it had turned from a road to a path about ten minutes back) stopped immediately to a tall grass field with many, many hills. As both Guilmon and I looked out onto this vast expanse of land, Gargomon and Turuiemon whipped around in a panic. We followed their gaze to see Golligamon waiting several metres away, alone.

"They're leaving," Turuiemon said vehemently. "Whatever problems you have with them, you can just drop them."

"Oh it's not just that," he said darkly, looking at me with an evil glare. "He's insulted my honour, and now he needs to die. I don't care if other people think he's a disgrace, I just want him dead!" He roared loudly and shot a blast of energy from his mouth at Guilmon and I.

We quickly dropped to the ground, barely avoiding the blast, and looked up to see him run forwards. Gargomon and Turuiemon stopped him, using a twin punch to send him flying ten feet backwards and crash into the ground.

From what I could tell, he seemed unconscious, but I had never really seen it myself.

The two champion level digimon let their guard down now and turned back to Guilmon and I. "We're going to miss having you around," Turuiemon said sadly, embracing Guilmon. "You were great friends, and I hope that we get to see each other again." Then she came to me and also hugged me.

I felt so good inside, having found more people who really enjoyed being around us.

Then Gargomon knelt down and embraced the two of us together. "Thank-you for showing us the wonder of digivolution, Ian. You have taught us many things, even without trying to. Good-luck with the Gates of Fire; I hope that you find them and an end to your night terrors."

"Thank-you, Gargomon," I replied, hugging him back. "I really hope that we'll meet up again. Actually, I'll make sure of it. We'll be back."

"I'll make sure of it too," Guilmon added, smiling at me over Gargomon's opposite shoulder.

Then Gargomon stood up and stood next to Turuiemon. "You'll do well," she said. "Just keep out of trouble."

Both she and Gargomon smiled as Guilmon and I started to leave.

We lifted up our hands and waved at both of them, the distance between us getting gradually larger. _"This is it," _I thought with determination, _"Guilmon and I on our own again. No cooked meals, no other people… no comfortable bed."_ I snorted a laugh at the last one. _"…And no leads."_

"Good-bye!" Guilmon called, a large grin on his face.

They both continued waving, then called back, "See you!"

I raised my hands to my mouth and shouted, "say good-bye to Leomon for us again! Bye!"

They nodded, giant smiles on their faces.


	14. Chapter 14

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Fourteen**

Hours had passed, and we had left South Populous Beach far into the horizon. The fields around us were endless, at least until the mountains to our left. Ahead and to our right, though, the sky practically fused with the ground.

There had been a couple of lone standing trees, some of which bore more of those interesting fruit. Guilmon said that they were edible, so we did eat them without hesitation. There had even been a small stream with fresh water running through it. For the first time, I felt like we were moving in the safest direction. Nothing seemed possible to go wrong here.

Guilmon and I wanted to talk, but there wasn't really anything to talk about. We had known each other for such a short period of time, but I had already spilled out my life story, and he his. It was great for friendship, but not much as far as conversations went. Either way, he was able to make a little bit of conversation by telling me what certain plants were when I asked.

There were very few digimon where we were, but I didn't expect to see many out here in the open. By the time the sun was close to the horizon, I had only seen a few Flymon go by, but they had been so far away that we didn't even need to hide.

We stopped at the next creek we found and we had collected a few fruits that we had found on our way there. I gathered some wood off of nearby standing trees and Guilmon lit them on fire with his Pyro Sphere. Roasted fruit tasted just fine, and neither of us had the effort to go and try and catch whatever small fish might've been lurking in the water. When we finished eating the sun had sunk below the horizon, casting the land into darkness and surprisingly cold weather.

"Is it always this cold in the plains?" I asked, "or is it just like this because of the heat we're used to from the city?"

Guilmon shivered, then looked over to me. "I think it's both," he replied, inching closer to the embers of our once mediocre fire. Because it had got so dark so quickly, it seemed unwise to go back out looking for wood, so we hadn't bothered to. Now, though, I wished we had.

I moved over beside him, the lay back on the ground to look at the stars. There were billions of them; it was a sight that I could never have seen in my world. The skies had been clouded up too much with pollution there, and the city lights never went off, so even if we could see them, they were crappy looking and dim. Here, though, they were brilliantly bright, and with no moon, they shone brighter than I had ever seen them. "The stars are so beautiful," I said quietly. "Does anyone else notice them like this?"

Guilmon's attention flipped up above him, and as he tilted his head back, he too ended up lying down to look at them. "Many digimon spend their time out in the open just looking at the stars," he said, joining my tone of voice. "If that's what you mean. We're just as entranced as you are."

"Oh good," I sighed, turning my hands into a pillow behind my head. "It would be a shame for all of this to go to waste. My old world is a lot different than this."

Guilmon looked over to me. "How?" he asked.

"Well, I suppose back about a thousand years ago, it would've been better, but now…" I sighed again. "With all the lights and pollution that there is there, the stars were about half as bright and half as numerous. It's quite sad, really. Now no one but the astronauts get to see the view properly."

"That is sad," Guilmon agreed, turning his head back to the stars.

The night terrors that night were far less bad than any of the others I had had. It had just been darkness and screaming, but it was only a few minutes before Guilmon appeared, glowing. He didn't offer any light to what was around, but he himself was quite visible. I ran to him, then embraced him tightly and closed my eyes shut tight. The screaming was dulled and it wasn't darkness for me anymore. I felt… safe.

When I did wake up, I was in Guilmon's arms, holding tightly onto him, on the grass. The sun was just peeking up above the horizon and the sky was already a brilliant blue. As I slowly relinquished my grasp, I saw that there was almost nothing left of our fire from the night before. There were a few ashes on the ground, but it was seriously out.

I rolled softly off of Guilmon's sleeping body and stood up to go and find some breakfast. There were a couple fruit trees back where I had found the wood, so I went there, returning in a few minutes with several random fruits in my arms. Guilmon was still fast asleep with the sun's rays bouncing off his white and red skin, sprawled out over the ground. _"As long as I have Guilmon around, I know I'm safe."_ I sat down next to the fire pit and gently placed the fruits on the ground. _"If anything happened… I don't know what I'd do." _A sigh escaped my lips. _"The sunrise here is so beautiful. I wonder if my world ever looked as nice as this? No, I don't ever want to leave. I'd rather live for a week here, then live for eternity in my old world." _I yawned widely, leaning back down on the soft grass.

A short while passed before I heard Guilmon wake up. Looking over, I saw him roll up into a sitting position, then shake his head free of sleep. Then he looked over at me, seeing that I wasn't asleep, and took a few steps over and sat down next to the fruit.

"Good morning, Ian-mon," he said happily.

"Morning, Guilmon," I replied, still wondering why he was the only one adding 'mon' to my name. "I woke up a little earlier and found us some breakfast."

"How much earlier?" Guilmon asked, looking at me sternly.

I knew he was referring to my night terrors. "Actually, it was only about fifteen minutes ago. I didn't have much of a nightmare at all, really."

He seemed reluctant to believe it, but I wouldn't lie about that. "Maybe they're going away," he said, taking a fruit from the pile and starting on it.

About twenty minutes later, after quickly washing our hands in the nearby creek, we continued walking.

As the day progressed, we started to realise that we had no real direction to go. Travelling had just seemed like the best thing to do since its what we had been doing since I came to the Digital World. So, after a few hours of walking, we decided that we would start to head towards our left, towards the mountain range. They were tall, taller than any mountain I had ever seen, and in my old world, we had pretty tall mountains. At any rate, we hadn't been to the mountains yet, so we thought that it might be a good idea. It also reminded us of the book that had said that the Gates of Fire had been swallowed up by a mountain.

Because we had no deadlines, no schedules, no people who needed to see us or any other sort of obligation, we were free to move as leisurely as we wished, meaning that we took many breaks that weren't entirely necessary. I started to wish we had a place to call home, like Leomon's bar had been, or at least a common place to return to. I was beginning to feel like a nomad and that we would be travelling forever. That's what made me start talking.

"Guilmon," I said after another short break, "do you have a home?"

He looked at me with a cocked head, almost unsure of what I was asking.

"We've been travelling ever since we got to this world, and it doesn't seem like we're doing anything yet." My walk, as if it wasn't slow enough, slowed down even more as I released these pent up thoughts. "I don't know… it seems like everyone we've met has a life set up for themselves, and all we're doing is running around the Digital World. Before you heard of me, did you have a home or a family?"

"Most digimon don't have families," Guilmon said, trying to pick up the pace. "We have schools when we're in our baby and in-training levels, but from there we choose our own lives. Every digimon comes from Primary Village, or at least the one on this continent. I didn't really have a home either. There would be places I returned to a lot, but I was always moving, always travelling."

"Why?" I asked. It seemed a little bit sad to me.

He shrugged, our pace returning to normal. "I don't know," he replied. "Everywhere I was things just didn't seem right. I was looking for something… and I think I found you." He smiled widely at this.

I was touched. My old family, the ones back in my old world, had consisted of my parents, my older brother, and my twin. For twins, though, we weren't too close as people would think. At any rate, I felt like I had found the perfect brother, more of a twin than my actual twin. We had the same way of thinking, the same general way of living, and we were best friends, just like the stereotyped twins one would see on TV. We were different people, mainly distinguished from the obvious difference of race, and we had led different lives until now so we could see that we were divergent, but otherwise, our present selves were almost the same person. It felt amazing to finally be understood, to be accepted and preferred as who I am, and having someone to feel the same way about. "Thanks, Guilmon," I said quietly, unsure if he could hear me as timid as I had become.

The next two days passed the same as the first had: wake up with next to no nightmares, have breakfast, then travel all day at an easy pace with frequent breaks, then dwindle down to a stop at the river closest to sundown. The entire time we kept going forwards, but also angled off to the left towards the mountains.

On the third day, in the afternoon, we finally came to the base of the closest mountain. It was tall, much taller than any mountain I had seen in person, but small in comparison to the other mountains. In fact, it was the smallest mountain that we could see, but at the present, because of our angle, there were only four other mountains we could see anyway.

When we did reach the mountain, we stopped for another break underneath some trees. The mountains themselves were covered in them, and there were several lone-standing trees around them. I found some small, orange fruits under one of them and got Guilmon to give me a boost up to collect a few. It was a comical balancing act, but fun nonetheless. I was just reaching for the last orange, though, when a huge quake sent us tumbling to the ground in a heap.

It had been funny for a moment until another quake shook the ground and caused the tree above us to shake off many of its fruit.

"What is it, Guilmon?" I asked quickly, unfolding myself and him from the pile we were in.

He lifted his head up, scrambling to his feet with me at his side and sniffed tentatively at the air. "A digimon," he replied, his pupils becoming smaller. "Big."

All of a sudden, the ground in front of us shook again, throwing the two of us backward and the ground above it up into the air. From there I saw, looking through the debris in the air, came a purple and peach coloured digimon with a drill on his head. He was about eight times the size of me, mostly in girth, though; he looked only to be about ten feet tall.

"Drimogemon," Guilmon hissed quietly. "Champion level; he'll be hard to beat."

I looked carefully at the great beast, looming above us some several feet away. He didn't seem that menacing, and if it weren't for the drill on his head, I would've mistaken him for a good digimon. "Are you sure we need to fight him?" I asked tentatively. "He doesn't look like a big threat. He actually looks kind of friendly."

Guilmon's tension ebbed slightly as he contemplated this possibility. "We will wait to see if he's going to attack," he said, still stuck firmly in battle-mode. "We can't let him have the first attack, though, or we'll be doomed."

I nodded; that was a fair decision.

As the Drimogemon looked around, as if he was letting his eyes focus to all the light, his eyes landed on us, and they stayed there. He took a few steps towards us, then noticed that Guilmon had moved in front of me, his battle position clearly evident. Then the giant digimon backed off a step or two, his hands raised as if to surrender. "Calm yourself, Guilmon and human," he said in a deep and calming voice. "I mean you no harm."

I watched as Guilmon let down his guard, but he still stayed in front of me like a shield. "What are your intentions?" he asked quickly.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said, returning his front paws to the ground. "I was just drilling down a bit below the surface when I drilled into some stone deposits. I feared that they caused a disturbance on the surface, so I came to take a look."

"There was a small quake," I said over Guilmon's shoulder, now standing beside him, "then another, but they were both quite minor."

He sighed gratefully, looking up to the mountains above him. "I'm glad," he said, "another rock slide could cause these mountains to collapse."

I looked to Guilmon who returned my glance. "What?" I asked. "Could a rock slide really do something that catastrophic?"

With another sigh, he looked up to the mountains and continued talking. "These mountains, or at least many of them, are inhabited by Drimogemon and other various underground digimon. We've lived in them for centuries now, and our tunnels have encompassed almost every spot of these mountains, whether below or within them. Any more serious digging could send them all collapsing to the ground. Then all of us digimon would be out of a home, and we'd have to move to another mountain range, and although that would temporarily solve our problems, in the long run it's just going to happen all over again."

"Wow," I said, "that is a problem."

Guilmon gasped quietly, an idea coming to him. "Drimogemon," he started, "do you know if there's a mountain around with the Gates of Fire in them? Or if it isn't, where we could find them?"

The great digimon's eyes darkened immediately and he looked away from us like we were bad people. "We don't do any digging at the Mountain of Darkness. No one goes near that mountain. It is cursed and tainted with evil."

Guilmon and I looked at each other in excitement. If he knew where it was, or about it, we must be close to it. "Where is it?" he asked quickly, hardly able to contain himself.

He almost attempted to look at us, but then turned away again, his mouth firmly shut. With a few steps back, he stuck his head to the ground and started to disappear beneath the ground. "What are you doing?" I asked loudly, shocked that he would be so rude.

Both Guilmon and I dashed towards the newly formed hole with only Drimogemon's hind legs sticking out. "Please!" Guilmon shouted, watching in desperation as the giant digimon continued to sink lower. With no results, Guilmon opened his mouth and shot a Pyro Sphere at him.

In a flash, right when we though it was going to do some good, Drimogemon whipped around with his front paws bared. He was suddenly above us, then he crashed his paws down on the ground, knocking both of us off our feet. Then he placed his paws down on us and pushed down firmly. I cried out in pain as my legs and lower torso were bent easily into a position that they never should've been in. Guilmon was evidently in just as much pain, but he didn't cry out.

"YOU WILL NOT GO NEAR THE MOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS," Drimogemon growled, his face only a bit more than a foot away from ours. "DO NOT TEMPT ME, FOOLS. THE MOUNTAIN IS FORBIDDEN." His voice alone was enough to knock me to the ground, had I been standing.

Tears started to form at my eyes, though I did not will them to. I nodded, though because the rest of my body was shaking, I wasn't sure if he could tell. Guilmon was also nodding.

With a snort of anger, he removed his paws from us and returned down the hole, digging much faster than he had before.

My legs were aching, but I knew that nothing was broken or fractured. It looked like Guilmon was in the same boat. I didn't dare move in fear of causing more pain to myself. My breathing was much faster than normal, and I was still trembling in fear.

Guilmon, aware of my state, pulled himself over to me, his legs just about as useful as mine. "Are you alright?" he asked, lying on his back directly beside me.

"I'm fine," I said quietly, my voice as shaky as I was. "My legs just hurt a lot." I wiped my sleeve across my eyes, drying them. "How 'bout you?"

"Same," he replied, his hand holding onto mine for strength.

Almost an hour passed before we even tried to move again, and when we did manage to get to our feet again, we were so shaky that it almost didn't matter. We needed each other to stand up, and once we were able to move, all we did was stumble back to the tree and collapse underneath it.

Some more time passed when I said, "well, I guess it's close."

Guilmon firmly agreed and we remained resting and eating a couple fruit each.

The next morning, we were so sore that we almost didn't get up. Guilmon didn't physically show his injuries, but my legs were almost one giant bruise. Nothing was broken in any form, but it felt like they were. We decided that we wouldn't pursue anyone if they didn't tell us where the Gates were, but we wouldn't hesitate to interrogate them. Not that we saw anyone, save for a few digimon passing by in the sky, but they were out of earshot, so we didn't even try.

For the most part, we stayed alongside the mountains, not going into them, but still continuing forwards, towards the horizon where the sun set. By the end of the day, when the sun was only a few inches from the ground, we stumbled upon a mountain oasis. At our feet was the edge of a giant pond, about forty feet across and thirty feet away from the base of the mountain. The water was covered in ripples and spray, all of which was created from an enormous waterfall; it was almost seventy feet high, it seemed, and it was about fifteen feet wide at the top.

I was instantly psyched: all of this travelling out in the wild had covered me in filth and grime, and though I still looked somewhat presentable, I felt gross. After quick consent from Guilmon, who was also feeling grimy, I pulled off my shirt and my pants and started into the water. It was quite cold, but manageable. I had been in colder, that was for sure, but nonetheless, it was refreshing. Guilmon joined me, but he kept close to the edge of the water, sitting in the shallows. The water grew steadily deeper in only a few feet, and by the time I was about three metres from the edge, the water was above my waist. With a deep breath, I dove under the water, the chill instantly sinking in.

I swam to the middle of the water, the bottom easily thirty feet below me, and simply treaded water. A minute or so later, I swam to the waterfall, not getting too close because the force of the water was enough to sufficiently drown me. The thick spray, though, was extremely comfortable, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There were a few big rocks sticking out of the water, so I swam up to the nearest and sat on it, now in the thickest part of the spray accompanied by enough water droplets to be considered rain.

The water practically sunk into my skin, cleansing me to a state of elation. _"If it weren't for these rocks, I'd already be halfway up the mountain to jump off the waterfall. Oh well, I suppose I'd be safer to not." _I looked over to Guilmon who was wading a bit into the deeper waters, but he still didn't let himself get soaked up to his neck. _"And to think of how far we've come… he originally saved me when we were in the water, and then he saved me a few more times…" _I sighed deeply. _"Great times. Everything seemed so much simpler then; I was in a new world with new rules and a clean slate, and now half of a city wants me dead and the rest of them expect such greatness for me. Now I don't even know where we're going and I'm only saving the people from myself. I think so, at least… the darkness has been pretty inactive these past few nights with Guilmon around."_

Finally, after about ten minutes under the water, I decided to go back to the solid ground. I slipped back into the water and swam over, taking my sweet time. The sun had already sunk below the horizon and the rest of the world was turning purple and navy of the dark. I followed Guilmon out of the water, shook myself off and pulled on my pants, then went to go and find some firewood and fruit. Guilmon came with me after shaking himself off of the water, not straying more than a few feet away from my side.

"That's really pleasant water, isn't it?" I said, still lost in the sway of the water. "It's clear, fresh and cool. I really enjoyed myself."

Guilmon seemed to hesitate to agree with me, but he did nod in agreement.

"Is something up?" I asked him, noticing his slight discomfort with the topic. "Don't you like the water?"

He shook his head slightly, looking at the ground. "Not really," he replied. "Too many bad things happen in the water: people drown, people are attacked by lake monsters, that kind of stuff. That and I can't control my movements very well. Waves and movement in the water makes me unbalanced, and then I feel out of control."

I looked at him in surprise; every time we had been in the water, or at least at the beach, he had been really good at swimming. He was strong and steady, and he got the job done. At any rate, I didn't want to press him about it. I understood what it felt like to feel unsafe.

We came upon a small standing of trees and we broke off several branches, making sure that we would have plenty for the night. Then, in one of the other trees, there were some strange yellow fruits about the size of a large plum. They were squishy and smelled like whatever flower they must've come from. Guilmon held the wood and I plucked about ten of the fruits and carried them, using my shirt like a hammock.

When we got back, we set up a small camp about ten feet from the water, lighting the fire in no time with another one of Guilmon's Pyro Spheres. The fruits didn't cook well, so we simply ate them plain. They were tasty enough, but it wasn't as good as having a cooked meal. Not for the first time, I wished that we were back at Leomon's bar, having a proper meal and sleeping in a proper bed.

As soon as we finished, I began to feel quite drowsy, so much so that I leaned onto Guilmon's shoulder, already half asleep by the time I reached it. He snorted a laugh, then leaned back to the ground and tried to rest himself. I fell asleep to the sound of Guilmon's breathing, though it had been like that since we found each other at South Populous Beach. Now, though, it just seemed more right.

My eyes snapped open to complete darkness. I was super tired and I felt like I had barely closed my eyes before they were torn open again. It was still dark out, but I didn't think it would be like that for much longer.

Guilmon was still asleep, but I couldn't figure out why I was awake. There were no loud noises, no light, and no disturbances around…

Then I heard the lapping of water against the shore. It was smooth and calm, but still louder than it normally was. I listened intently to it, then started to get worried as it got faster. There was no wind to create it, and I began to think that there might be something disturbing the water.

"Guilmon!" I whispered loudly, shaking his shoulder. "Guilmon, wake up! I think something's wrong!"

His eyes slowly creaked open, then quickly focused as he realised what I was saying. "What is it?" he asked, sitting up beside me.

"I think that there's something moving the water around," I said, looking over in the direction of the water. The moon had long since set and the stars didn't do much to reflect on the water. "Listen…"

He too started to hear what I had been hearing, and then he started to sniff around. He didn't find anything, nothing that could cause the water's movement.

The crashing of huge waves jumped up out of the water, startling us to our feet. We looked at the water, still seeing nothing, and waited for a second.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon called out, sending a ball of red energy from his mouth out towards the water.

We both gasped at the same time:

"Gesomon," Guilmon uttered.


	15. Chapter 15

**Digiworld Adventure**

**Part Fifteen**

Guilmon's Pyro Sphere had briefly illuminated the scene in front of us: a giant white and black squid practically exploding out of the water. It was about twenty feet tall with huge flailing tentacles flying around its giant body. On the larger part of its head there were black markings, clearly etched on or something, to look like some fantastic design. The overall effect was sheer terror.

"JESUS CHRIST!" I screamed, nearly falling down in shock.

Guilmon grabbed my arm to hold me steady. "We need to get out of here!" He pulled me towards the trees, knowing that we'd be safer it the monster couldn't reach us. I immediately followed him, trying desperately to keep up with his pace.

Gesomon roared loudly, the water flying out onto the shore and beyond. We had barely made it fifteen feet, though, when a giant tentacle came crashing onto our backs. We both cried out in pain and fear as we went flying forwards. From what I could see, we went about ten more feet through the air, but I stopped in an explosion of pain: I had flown into the nearest tree, headfirst.

A burst of light illuminated my vision as pain wracked my body, which was now crumpling to the ground at the base of the tree. Tears flew to my eyes, but it wasn't the first liquid to reach them. The blood came all the way down my face, into my eyes and trickling down to my chin before the tears of pain could even start to well up, and when they did, it only made me feel worse than I already was.

Everything tingled in pain, but I couldn't move, not even my fingers. No screams came from my mouth, no moans of pain or anything. I just lay there, possibly twitching in pain. _"What happened to Guilmon? Is he okay? I need you, Guilmon!"_

Another burst of light, this time golden, though, came from around my neck: the Crest of Life was lighting up.

From a ways away, I heard trees rustling out of the way, and then a loud and familiar roar. Giant footsteps came running towards the water and I heard Gesomon shriek in pain.

Guilmon had digivolved again! He could fight! Of course, I couldn't see anything, but just knowing he was there was enough to make the pain not as intense. The numbness had changed quickly into throbbing painfully, and I was just hoping that I wouldn't die of blood loss or a displaced brain. That and the taste of blood running through my mouth made the entire situation all the more terrifying, but I was glad that I could at least feel pain everywhere and hadn't suffered a spinal cord injury. I had no intention of being a paraplegic or a quadriplegic.

Roars of anger and shrieks of pain emitted from the water behind me, tearing me up inside because I couldn't see if Guilmon was winning or not. _"Of course he is!" _I nearly shouted at myself, _"he has to win! He always wins if he digivolves! I just hope it's soon…"_

After about four minutes of crashing and splashing and roaring, there was one final roar and things started to get quiet.

_"Did he win? Did he win? Oh, Guilmon, you have to have won…" _

I heard a bit of movement in the water, and I tensed up imagining a slow moving Gesomon in the water, but then: "Ian-mon!"

Relief flooded into my body but I couldn't even attempt moving. I wanted to call out to Guilmon, to tell him where I was and that I was alive, but I had to wait.

Guilmon's footsteps stuttered for a second, not too far from where I was. "IAN!" he cried, dashing to me. I could barely see him through my peripheral vision from all the blood running through my eyes, but he bent down next to me. "Are you still awake, Ian-mon?" he asked desperately, trying to get a reaction from me.

I tried once more, and this time I managed to let a moan of pain escape my mouth. Everything felt like it was crushed, or compressed, like a cartoon that had run into a wall. But this wasn't a cartoon; this was real life where people don't just crash into walls like that and survive. I was shocked, however, that I was even awake to hear Guilmon, and breathing almost normally too. My breath was constricted at my throat which seemed to have become in just as much pain as everything else on my body.

"I don't know what to do!" he said helplessly. "You're alive, you're awake, but you're bleeding and it looks really bad… Can I move you? I need to see your wounds! I don't want you to get any more hurt!" He almost started sobbing, and I had a million things to do and say, none of which I could really end up doing!

He put his hands gently on my shoulders, his arms shaking in fear, and pulled slowly away from the tree, untangling me in the process. More tears ran from my eyes as fresh bolts of pain came shooting down my back and my limbs. After I was about a foot and a bit away from it, he slowly rolled me onto my back, giving me my first clear glance at him.

"Ian-mon," he uttered, tears welling up in his eyes. "You look like you're in so much pain!" He quieted for a moment as he tried to wipe my eyes clean of the blood. It didn't do much, but there wasn't much he could do. Then he pressed his cheek against mine, trying to comfort me. "Stop bleeding," he whispered, placing his hands on my chest and rubbing his cheek against me. "Stop hurting… you're going to be okay." Then he looked up and around. "HELP!" he cried. "SOMEONE!" He paused, listening to his voice echo back to him. "ANYONE!" Tears were running down his face almost as fast as mine, and he soon collapsed overtop of me, supporting himself with his hands on the opposite side of my torso. "I don't know what to do!" I moaned even more distressed then before. His shoulders were shaking; well, his entire body was shaking in fear.

"_Stop, Guilmon,"_ I thought sadly. _"You can't lose hope now. You just won! Why did I have to be so stupid?"_

He embraced me as carefully as he could, trying to quell his sobs. "Get better…"

Something strange started to happen then. Guilmon started to glow softly, as did the Crest of Life, and from the light that was being displayed around us, it seemed my digivice was glowing too.

The light grew slightly, consuming both of us until I was sure that I too was glowing. Nothing I could think of helped this make any sense at all; I was completely confused as to what was happening. The glow gave off a warmth, very faint but there nonetheless, and the pain started to subside.

"Guilmon…" I whispered, lifting my arms up around him, returning the embrace.

Almost a minute later, the glowing stopped. I felt completely drained, and it was apparent that Guilmon felt the same. His eyes were barely open, and his breathing was just as slow as mine was. I wanted to do something, to do anything, to find out what had happened, but I was too tired, it would have to wait until…

The sun was very high in the sky when we woke up. We were still embracing each other, and we were still drained, but I didn't hurt anymore. I rolled off of him and faced the morning sun, which was quickly becoming the afternoon sun. Guilmon rolled up to a sitting position, propping himself up with his hands. He looked up at the sun, squinted, then sneezed. Then he looked over to me as I stood up and looked around.

"What happened?" I asked slowly; my voice cracked like I was sick and my eyes drooped in fatigue. I held up my digivice next to the Crest of Life, looking at them like I had never seen them before. "First it was the Crest making you digivolve, and then…"

"I found you like that," Guilmon nearly whimpered. "I was so scared, Ian-mon. I was starting to think you were… that you would…"

"It's okay, Guilmon," I sighed, looking over at the now motionless water. "I thought it too."

"And then I started to glow, and then you were glowing too…" Guilmon trailed off, lost for words. "Now we're here."

"Now we're here," I repeated, turning to look at the mountains. We were silent for a while, simply looking at the now foreign seeming surroundings. Then I said, "I think we need to find someone who knows where we can find the mountain, and who's also willing to tell about it."

"Yeah," Guilmon agreed, "that sounds like the next move." He hopped up to his feet, staggering a bit as the blood rushed to his head, then joined me in looking at the mountains. "Which way should we go?"

I stared for another long while, thinking over our choices. _"On the one hand, we could continue down the way we're going now, but we haven't seen any villages yet. On the other hand, we could go right into the mountains and hope to find some village dwelling digimon or villages."_ "I think we have to go into the mountains," I sighed, looking at my poor, bare feet. They were going to take another beating, but after all of this travelling we'd done, they were already in a state beyond recognition.

"Well, then," Guilmon said briskly, "I guess there's no delaying it. Let's grab some breakfast and get onto it!"

The mountain ground was just as painful as I had expected, but it was only really bad when we were walking on the rocks. I started to realise how Guilmon must've felt walking around with no footwear, and he had feet just as sensitive as mine. His endurance must've come from living like this for his entire life.

When it wasn't sharp rocks, though, we were walking through thick trees on a coarse grass scattered with whatever prickles that the trees were shedding. It wasn't too uncomfortable, and I quickly got to a point of endurance where I wasn't feeling them. They were mostly a nuisance when they got stuck between my toes.

At any rate, we hadn't gone too high up, and certainly hadn't done anything close to climbing, but we were making good process. By midday we were almost off the first mountain and in a small valley between the first one and the next. I was hopeful that we would come across another village, but from what we could see, there didn't seem to be any.

For food, only a few of the trees were fruit bearing, but we got by happily. We didn't stumble by anything for water, though, that wasn't bigger than a small trickle running down the side of the mountain.

Finally, we reached the valley as the sun was starting to disappear behind the mountains to our left. I still had no sense of direction in this world, with no guess of which direction north was. It didn't seem to be that big of a deal, though, but I recognised the pros to knowing it. At any rate, I wasn't about to start freaking out about it.

Although it would be a few more hours until the sun was actually down to the extent that we were used to, we made it an excuse to get to rest earlier. We found a small clearing of grass at the foot of the next mountain and decided that we would camp there. Together, we went and collected some fruit and some wood, then returned to the site and put the wood down in preparation for a fire. When the sun had disappeared behind the mountain, the shade that was created took less than half an hour to cool down to a point where we were almost shivering. So, because of it, we lit the fire early and I went back to get an extra stock of wood in case we needed it.

The fruits disappeared quickly, and we were left with our thoughts.

"_I wonder if there's ever going to be a point where I can just stop… where I can just look back and sigh thinking, 'I'm glad that's over.' It would be nice, for once, to just have a break with no end in the foreseeable future. All this moving is nice, but sometimes… I guess I just want something like being at Leomon's bar, but more permanent. I don't know, maybe I want a home?"_ I looked over at Guilmon. _"He's been like this his entire life, not having a real home, and I'm complaining? Maybe we can find something together…" _

Guilmon was sitting silently, looking deep into the fire. When I looked harder, he seemed to be in an extremely deep concentration that I didn't want to break. His eyes were searching the fire, darting from side to side a centimetre or two.

Then I leaned back and looked up at the sky, which I found to be fading quickly. _"What type of a life is left for me here? I don't really need to work; I mean, everything's here to get along quite healthily. In my old world, I had to be worried about education and everything else until I make it to seniority, when someone would probably throw me into an old folks home. Here… I can go out and do the things that I want to do, as long as they're physically possible. Maybe I should just wait and see what progresses as life goes on. What's the use of over-thinking something like this? I don't know what's coming, but I'll wait and see." _

An hour or so passed, and the only real movement was me putting more wood on the fire. Darkness started to really sink in, and I moved over next to Guilmon as the cold started to reach us. He jumped out of his concentration with a start, then looked around wildly to find that it was dark out. "S-sorry," he stuttered shamefully, "I think I really zoned out there…"

I shook my head. "No problem, Guilmon. It gave me a chance to zone out myself. I'm going to go to sleep now, but don't let me disturb your thinking." I leaned back down onto my back, my arms stretched back as pillows. Guilmon continued looking into the fire, and I tried to fall asleep.

Although I'm not claustrophobic, nor am I agoraphobic, having mountains around me once again was quite comforting. In my old world, I lived in a valley with some of the tallest mountains in the world around me. I'm not uncomfortable in the prairies or just anywhere with next to no mountains, it just felt safer with them around me. The fire cast warm waves of air towards me, and I soon found myself nodding off into sleep.

_Darkness surrounded me, smothering me, chaining me down. I was paralysed, unable to do anything but breathe, and that itself was nearly impossible with the intense heat that I seemed to be breathing in. Soon I was suffocating in the heat, drowning in my own sweat, all in complete darkness. Never had I been so immobilised, so helpless, and it created more fear than having my life pulled away from me when I was drowning. This was real; this was pushing me over the edge of sanity. _

_So, when the screaming started, I started to scream back. Tears rolled down my face, burning me like acid as they ran down my cheeks and onto my chin, creating almost more pain than the heat. It was worse than torture, worse than death but rather having death pressed hard against me without it actually taking me. _

"_Guilmon!" I screamed, choking on the thick air, "HELP! ANYONE! HELP ME!"_

_I started to pass out from the intensity of the heat and from everything else that seemed to be inflicting pain, when I heard a snap, then collapsed to the ground. _

_Everything was quiet, and the air had returned to normal. My face still twinged painfully, but the fresh tears were making it cooler. _

_Suddenly, another snap emitted from… from everywhere, and everything that was once dark was now white. Stark white, to a point where it was almost blinding. I looked ahead of me into the white abyss seeing nothing. I had no shadow, there was no light source, I was just standing on the white. _

"_Do you like not having pain?" a voice asked. _

_I whipped around, startled, and saw him. He was completely engulfed in the darkness, burning like a flame from it, but he felt nothing. He was grinning darkly, like a small child watching ants fry under his magnifying glass. "Of course I like it, no one really likes pain."_

_He paced to the side, my gaze following him as I slowly stood up. His grin was fearsome even more so, now that I noticed his sharp teeth glinting like little daggers at me. "Look at you," he said, "you're a mess." His voice sounded like screeching metal to me; no matter how calm and how sane it really sounded. I cringed at the sound of it. "But then again, it's really quite obvious why. You go around, running across the countryside like a little child while I become stronger with each passing day. Do you know what gives me the strength?"_

_I stared fiercely into his cold, grey eyes. "It's evil," I spat._

"_Evil is only a small part of it," he said, pacing back the way he had come. "The real thing that does it is darkness."_

"_They're practically the same thing!" I exclaimed, my thoughts racing wildly for something to do._

_He smiled darkly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Darkness is everything from the darkness in a lost person's heart to the shadows created from something as simple as a tree. Each day, the sun creates more and more shadows, feeding me, feeding what is essentially _us_. Your portion, as I'm sure you're already finding out, is much, much smaller in comparison to mine."_

_This was starting to seem like a one sided battle now, a battle of the wits. "But you should also know, darkness has to hide from mine, otherwise it will disappear. You hide behind 'simple trees' and in the depths of one's soul where you can't be seen by me so you can say that you're stronger. If I touch you, you will disappear."_

_He smirked at me, taking a few steps towards me until he was in arms reach of me. His darkness seemed to push away from me, but he didn't flinch in the least. "Are you willing to take that risk?" he asked vehemently. "Would you dare find out what light and dark do together just to prove a point? You can't live without me. I am part of you."_

_We stared at each other, waiting to see who would back down first. I didn't even come close to twitching my finger, and after one extremely tense moment, he returned to his pacing._

"_Of course you can't touch me," he snarled. "You haven't got the guts. But you do seem quite intent on casting me away. You can't live without me! If you try it, you are going to die, and this world will crumble under the effort. Besides, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious Guilmon, would you?"_

_My eyes widened in fear. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?" I roared, storming up to him. "DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON HIM, OR I SWEAR-"_

_Anger flashed through his eyes and his hand darted to my throat. He then lifted me up into the air with one hand, choking me. "DON'T YOU THREATEN ME!" he screamed. "I CAN TOUCH YOU! IT ONLY TAKES ONE WRONG 'SLIP' AND YOU'RE DEAD." He then threw me to the ground in front of him, spitting at the ground in front of me. "If he's so important to you, I guess this wouldn't be good for you to see." He snapped his fingers, then pointed behind me. _

_I turned and looked, my face turning white in less than a second. There, lying on the ground a few feet away from me was Guilmon's body, torn apart to a point where he was almost unrecognisable. A scream of fear, anger and sickness came flying from my mouth as I stumbled towards his bloody corpse, trying to take in what I was seeing. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" I screamed, "YOU KILLED HIM, YOU BASTARD, YOU KILLED HIM!" Tears exploded from my eyes as I dropped to my knees in front of him, then looking to see if I could fix anything. His legs and arms stuck out at odd angles, and his head was twisted far too far to the side to not be broken. "OH MY GOD!" I gasped, my tears falling faster than they ever had. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? GUILMON!"_

_I fell onto his body, blood soaking into my shirt and my pants. "I will hunt him down," he hissed, "if you try it, he will die first."_

_Sadness swept me away and I was no longer listening to his evil words. "Guilmon!" I sobbed, "GUILMON!"_

I was crying profusely into Guilmon's warm shoulder, holding onto him like if I let go, he would be taken to death. "Guilmon!" I screamed, my arms hurting from how hard I was holding him. "Guilmon!"

"Ian!" he shouted back, trying to get through to me. "It's okay! It's just another night terror!"

It took about ten minutes before I calmed down, and even then I wouldn't let go of him. It was as if I had had my real brother killed right in front of me, and no matter how unreal it was, I couldn't help but feel so much relief that he was indeed alive.

"Guilmon…" I sobbed quietly. "It was terrible! He was there… and then… then he snapped his fingers and-" I stopped in mid-sentence. I couldn't possibly utter it, let alone try to imagine it again.

He held onto me firmly, but not ungently, giving me certainty that he was there. "I'm not going anywhere," he said in a hush. "I'll follow you to the ends of the Digital World and back again, because I won't leave you. You are my human partner, and I am your digimon, and nothing in the world can separate us, and if you haven't learned that, then you haven't learned anything since I came into your world and found you." He patted my back gently. "No dream, no night terror, and no force in either of our worlds will ever change that."

My body lost its tenseness after that, and I was able to think clearly once more. My face still hurt from when the tears in my dream burned their way down my face, and I was still feeling burnt from the heat, but Guilmon was there. He was completely right, but I still couldn't help but feel worried.

The threat that had been made seemed so real, and I knew that with enough effort, it might be able to come to pass. I didn't doubt his power for a minute now, after what had happened, after I found that he could touch me, and when he just lifted me off the ground I felt… helpless.

"Are you going to be all right, Ian-mon?" Guilmon asked quietly.

I nodded, my head still firmly in his shoulder. "I'm sorry for not having seen that earlier, Guilmon. Thank-you for showing me again."

When morning came I was still shaken from the night terror, but I was beginning to feel a bit better. We pressed onwards, to the top and over the mountain whose base we had slept at.

By about noon, we had nearly reached the bottom of the mountain, and we were now being introduced to a new valley. When we came to an open glade that didn't have a tree-obstructed view of the valley, we saw what we had been looking for: a small village. It was still a ways away, but we were only a few hours' walk away from it. With a new beat in our steps, we moved a bit faster down the mountain.

We snagged a few fruit as we moved, our eagerness not being deterred by simple desires like food, and before long, we could see the village entrance not too far off. We had long since reached the bottom of the mountain, and we were now power-walking our way down the centre of the narrow valley.

Then, a few hundred metres from the village entrance, Guilmon came to a sudden halt, making me stop with him. His eyes were narrowed and his nostrils were flared: a clear sign that he was checking out the territory. "What is it?" I asked after a moment.

He shook his head, as if trying to brush it off for a moment. "…It smells like digimon…" he said hesitantly. "I don't know… something seems out of place to me."

"Well, it won't hurt to take a look," I said, grabbing his hand and gently tugging him forwards.

Reluctantly he followed, his feet dragging on the ground slightly.

When we got to the entrance, I stopped in my tracks, frozen by the sight before me.


	16. Chapter 16

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Sixteen

"What happened here?" Guilmon whispered in fear.

Before us was the village, quite quaint with wooden and straw huts and houses and dirt roads, but the grounds were empty, save for hundreds of giant eggs, all in different colours and designs. I didn't know what it meant, but a chill ran down my spine nonetheless. "Guilmon…" I started.

"They're digi-eggs," he answered before I could ask. "It's what becomes of a digimon when they've run out of data to support themselves. It's like de-digivolving, but all the way to the beginning."

"How did this happen?" I asked, looking farther into the village.

"Usually a digimon goes to that stage when they're completely defeated in battle," he said reverently. "It's like this village was massacred…"

I took a step forward, entering the village finally, then noticed a bit of movement in the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I bent backwards, hearing Guilmon snort in alarm, and watched as a black blur soared overtop of my body, white fangs distinct against whatever it was. A grunt of surprise emitted from my mouth, and I stumbled back to see what it was.

_"A giant Doberman?" _I asked in shock.

"It's Dobermon," Guilmon hissed, grabbing me and pulling me back out of the village next to him. "He's a champion level. Very powerful."

"One more step and you're mine," the digimon snarled.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, my hands up in defeat. "We're just looking for a mountain! We didn't come here to cause trouble!"

"Then I have a message for you," the Dobermon said. "This is merely a small sample of my power. Turn back."

I froze up in fear. _"Could he have actually sent a message like that?" _My eyes focused in on the Dobermon who was still snarling in rage at us a few meters away. "Can we beat him?" I whispered to Guilmon.

He put his head directly next to mine, trying not to scare me. "I wouldn't try it unless your life was on the line. We should find another way."

"But all those digi-eggs!" I exclaimed, my voice still just at a whisper. "He did this!"

"It is not our fight," Guilmon answered. "We shouldn't go looking for trouble."

"What will you do when we leave?" I asked Dobermon loudly, trying to drown out his vicious snarl.

"This is merely a small sample of my power. Turn back." Then the Dobermon leapt down the road behind him, disappearing down an alley.

Both of us watched him until he was no longer visible before we turned and started towards the mountain opposite the one we had just come off. We were moving much slower now, and I was deep in thought. Guilmon respected that and didn't interrupt my thoughts until we reached the base of the mountain. We had stopped for a break, sitting down next to a giant log.

"What does that message mean to you?" Guilmon asked. "I know it means something, so don't try to put it aside."

I looked at him, sighing. His eyes were drilling into mine, searching for truth. "…It's from the darkness that Gennai told us about. He sent it to me as a warning. He was what made my night terrors so terrible, and he threatened to…" I broke off, unwilling to say it.

Guilmon put his arm over my shoulders, his head resting next to mine. "What?" he asked gently. "It's okay to say it."

I shook my head, my lips tightly sealed on the subject. "I don't want to say it," I said in a hush. "It was bad enough seeing it." I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to let the thoughts ebb away and out of my mind. A shiver ran down my spine as my thoughts tripped over the picture of Guilmon's mangled body.

That was as much of it as I could take.

I rolled over onto Guilmon, embracing him tightly like I did after the night terror. "He threatened to kill you!" I sobbed. "I don't want to lose you! It was terrible!" Words escaped me at this point and I simply bawled my eyes out.

He patted my back gently, holding me with his other arm. I could tell that he was worried now too; he had tensed up. Whatever verbal comfort could've been given, it seemed to elude Guilmon at the moment. He simply patted my back, assuring me that I was still there.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him through my tears.

"No!" he exclaimed, realising what I was saying. "This is not your fault! There is no one to blame here except for the darkness! If there were anything that anyone else could do, it would be done already! You're already doing so much by simply keeping on like you are. It may be difficult for people like Leomon to keep on helping us like he did, or Gabumon did, or anyone, really who have helped us, but it's nothing in comparison to the journey that you are on! You have to bear the darkness in your sleep, something that no one in the Digital World can compare to!"

"It must be harder to simply keep putting up with me," I sniffed, looking up and rubbing my eyes with my sleeve.

His eyes widened at that, then he leaned forwards and embraced me tightly. "No!" he said. "How can you think that? After all we've been through together, how can you even say that? Out of all the digimon in this world, out of the billions of people here, I was chosen for you alone. How can you say that?" He pressed the side of his head to the back of mine. "All of this is getting to be a bit much for us, I know that, but we are so close! We've come all this way, I think it would be fair to finish it, don't you?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," I said.

"We are in this together," he said firmly. "I look out for you as much as you do for me. If you try to keep me away from danger by throwing yourself in, we are not going to get any farther than we are now."

I let out a shaky sigh. "You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I was being a little stupid."

"It just shows how much you care," he crooned, "and it makes me happy. Now, let's get up."

We both stood up, me a little shakier than usual, and he rubbed a tear off of my cheek. "I am so glad that you came and found me, Guilmon," I said quietly.

From there we started up the third mountain, wondering if there would be any safe villages for us to go into from now on. But, after what we had just talked about, it seemed that we could just go on checking every single mountain that we came across until we found the right one.

When we reached the highest point of this mountain that we would go on (we had been trying to go around, but shortening the routes by going higher up), we found that the sun was on its way down and the clouds were starting to turn pink and purple. We searched hurriedly for the nearest empty area to set up camp.

It was a major score for us when we came across a relatively flat area with tall trees around it and a few large boulders in the middle of it. We gathered some wood (we had eaten what we found on the way before we came upon the clearing) and set up camp in the deep grass behind one of the boulders. When the fire was finally going properly, the sun was long gone behind the mountains and we had been enshrouded once again in the veil of the night, a sheet of freezing temperatures cast down upon us.

We had both been staring into the fire for a while when Guilmon suddenly started talking.

"There was this one time, years ago, when I was much smaller, I went out swimming in the lake that I had been staying near. I liked swimming then, but I went out further than I should have. I was out in the Digital World, swimming alone, and I got a terrible side ache. To make matters worse, I hadn't noticed the storm clouds up ahead before I went in, and the water soon became so bad, I was having too much difficulty staying above water, let alone trying to swim to shore. Wave after wave I would get pushed under the water, each time thinking it would be my last, until finally, I just couldn't stay above water.

"I woke up on the shore the next day; I guess the current had pushed me over and out of the water. I don't know how I had survived or why, but I learned two very important lessons that day. One: I would never be very comfortable around water again, no matter how prepared I was. Then two: I realised that I was alone. There wasn't anybody anywhere in the Digital World who would've noticed that I wasn't there anymore. It dawned on me that I didn't have any friends, at least any who knew me more than Guilmon, and that I was a very lonely digimon. From then on, whenever I met someone, I would try my best to befriend them, and though it didn't usually work, I at least knew some people around the world. That's why I'm so glad that I met you, Ian-mon. You've shown me how important true friends are, and how much I was missing out on. You've given me the chance to be the mon I always wanted to be."

I smiled at him, his intense expression moving me deeply. I hadn't known that I had been so life changing to him, as he had been to me. That and I was glad to know why Guilmon didn't like the water so much, and now I would be able to properly respect that fear.

"Well," I said, keeping the ball rolling, "my case is a little bit different that yours. Before I left my world, before you came for me, I had lots of friends, people who felt that they needed me to be around so that they could be a whole, and I had a big family. People always were there, watching me, making sure that I was still being the better side of my twin brother. Sometimes I had so many people around me that I would literally start screaming at how bad it was, even though at the beginning of my life I had been so alone. When I was younger, years and years and years ago, I didn't have many friends either. I blame it on my twin brother because he was always trying to make my life even more miserable than it already was, so my friends were quite rare. Then I had to go to a new school, well, both of us did, but we chose different schools. At the end of that year, I had so many friends; I was starting to feel better about myself.

"I look back now, cherishing those memories as they were, because recently, everyone had become far too overbearing most of the time, and I just wanted to be alone. And if alone wasn't an option, I wanted someone who could understand, at the very least, how I was feeling. Then when I saw Birdramon and Seadramon fighting in the Fraser River, I felt like I was so much closer to the life I had wanted to live. Something exciting, something, amazing and above all, something that would make me as a person stronger. So, when you came and sprung me out of that world, I felt like you were my guardian angel, sent out for me to save me and bring me to the better side. Whether or not I've been through a lot of pain and struggling since getting here, I've been living an exciting life; I've been living an adventure, and I've been getting stronger because of it. Because of you, Guilmon. That's why I'm so scared of losing you, because without you, I'm nobody."

Guilmon smiled at this, a big, toothy smile that made me so happy to be where I was right then. "I guess we're alone without each other, then, huh?"

I returned the smile, leaning back into the thick grass and admiring the stars. "It's like I've found the one person in two whole worlds who understands me. I don't know where I'd be without you, Guilmon."

He lay down in the grass directly beside me. "I don't know where I'd be, but I know that I wouldn't be close to the same digimon. I'd still be alone, and I'd still be travelling around without any purpose in the least." He placed his paw on my hand, holding it gently. "I guess we're not complete without each other."

_I was in the white void again, but this time I didn't have to wait for him to appear. I simply appeared there in the middle of nowhere, and when I saw his face, I nearly recoiled in fear. If I thought I had seen him angry before, it was nothing in comparison to this. He was fuming, his black flame burning with a delightfully evil flicker. Immediately he stormed up to me, his hand darting to my throat and he punched me firmly in the gut before lifting me off my feet once more, constricting my breathing._

_"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he snarled viciously, the sound of his voice being sane long forgotten. "Do you think you can survive without me? You are going to die trying to kill me?"_

_His punch had attempted to push out tears from my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him, or at least in this proximity. "Yes."_

_His eyes narrowed darkly, then he punched me again in the same spot. _

_My eyes started to get watery, but I still refused to cry. I gulped back another wave of pain and gasped, "without light there is no dark. If I die, you die." My breathing was getting quite rough now. _

_"You pathetic mongrel!" he roared, smacking me across the face. _

_That's when I got extremely pissed off and lifted my hand. I was only going to smack him, but when I made contact with his face, my hand started burning painfully. I could hear both his and my skin sizzling in under a second before he howled in pain and I tore my hand away from him. Where my hand had been was now a blotchy red area: one of the worst burns I had ever witnessed, but my hand was also in a similar state, if not, not as bad._

_"What the hell is that?" he screamed, throwing my oxygen deprived body away from him. _

_I skidded to a halt, holding my hand close to my chest, trying to ignore the intense pain. "Shadows can skirt the sun, but when light reaches it, they have to disappear!" I jumped back up to my feet, running at him. _

"_Skirt this!" he cried, throwing his leg out under mine, knocking me to my knees. _

_I whipped around and grabbed at his leg, and although he was wearing pants, the fabric seemed to melt away beneath my hands until I found bare skin. The sizzling started again and I could feel my hands, both of them now, burning at his flesh. _

_He screamed again, trying to draw back his leg, but I refused to relinquish it. When he smacked at my head, I attempted to grab his hand with one of mine, and he quickly withdrew. He continued his horrifying scream while I pulled his leg out from underneath him, then pinned him to the ground, my hands hovering dangerously over his shirt. "If you ever come so near as threaten my Guilmon again, I swear to god I will tear your heart out from your chest." _

_His eyes, once dark with hatred and power, were now filled with fury, but also a very pleasing fear. So, when he nodded carefully, I wanted to believe him. I smacked him across the opposite side of his face, leaving another vicious burn behind it. _

I bolted out of sleep in a thick sweat, my face, hands and leg screaming in pain. Guilmon was leaning overtop of me, his face in a panic. "Are you awake?" he asked desperately, not daring to come any closer than he already was.

I was gasping for air, not understanding the pain I was feeling. It was barely morning from what I could tell, and the sun was just getting close to the horizon. I tried to reach out to Guilmon, but he pulled away. "What's wrong?" I asked, that not being the real first thing in my mind.

"You're burning up!" he said fearfully, his hand hovering over my forehead. "I can feel it from here! And your hands are even worse! We need to get you to some water!"

I stood up, then swayed precariously and fell back to the ground. I was in no state to move around, let alone simply stand up.

At that moment, when things were starting to seem hopeless, they got even worse. A giant dragon with wings and the body of a snake burst out from the forest a few hundred metres away. With that I rolled over in pain, clutching my face and my leg curling up to the other, not understanding all the pain. "Oh my god!" I moaned, the pain making me nauseous.

Guilmon grabbed me around the torso, lifting me easily and dashing into the forest not far off.

The dragon above us landed in the clearing just as we made it to the forest, and I felt the heat increase as fire came blasting towards us, scorching the trees. "The forest is going to burn!" I cried, trying to grapple with the pain and the fear of the moment at the same time. "We need to get out of here!"

Behind us came an earth-shattering roar along with the sounds of burning wood. In seconds the smell of sizzling leaves came rushing to our noses, although I'm sure Guilmon smelt it before I did. "There's nowhere to go but up!" Guilmon said hopelessly, "that just puts us in a worse position!"

Thorns and brambles nicked at the both of us as Guilmon carried me through the thick brush. They, however, were nothing in comparison to this burning that I was feeling. _"How is this possible? I hit him, not myself! I can understand my hands… oh fuck! It hurts so much!" _Another moan of pain escaped my lips and I feared that I would start crying again. All of this was coming too fast, moving too quickly for me to register properly.

Suddenly we were in another open area, this time a small clearing at the bottom of a cliff: a cliff with a waterfall and a deep pool in the bottom of it. Another roar came out from behind us, much closer this time, and Guilmon turned around to find the trees already covered in thick flames. I saw them briefly, but my hands covered my face again as the pain racked through my entire body.

"What do we do?" Guilmon cried, looking around helplessly, the water almost as frightening as the fire.

The dragon reared up out of the forest, beating its majestic wings powerfully as it opened up its mouth to let out another burst of flame. I looked up to see it in the process, then screamed, "GET IN THE WATER!"

With barely any hesitation, Guilmon whipped around and darted for the water, leaping for it as the burst of flame shattered the darkness of the early morning.

As the water came up from before us and the flames from behind us, I took a deep breath, then braced for the impact, clutching fearfully onto Guilmon's trembling frame.


	17. Chapter 17

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Seventeen

The water seemed impossibly cold to me, but at the same time, it was refreshing to the point where I could move again. I held firmly onto my own breath, looking up briefly to see the burst of flame collide with the water we had been above not seconds before. Then I looked quickly to Guilmon who seemed very bad in the water. He was moving too much and he was losing air quickly. I looked around the clear water, grateful that the fire was proving some help, but saw nothing that would help us. The water was clearly deep, but there was no telling how deep, and in the meantime we were being dragged towards the pounding force of the waterfall like it was a whirlpool.

Guilmon was flailing around, as if he had never been in the water before, and I watched as another giant air bubble came from his mouth.

Although he had just been saving me, the tables quickly turned since I was much more able in the water. I grabbed his arms, pulling him down beside me, and held him firmly on my back, kicking gently so I would get somewhere without hitting him. There was nowhere really to go, but I hoped that we might be able to make it to the opposite side of the waterfall, since there was no chance that the fire could get there.

Unfortunately, before we could get close, Guilmon started really flailing as he started to run out of oxygen. I kicked my legs as hard as I could, not worrying about hitting him anymore, and darted towards the waterfall, rolling over 180 degrees so Guilmon wouldn't be hit with the force of the water.

The water dragged me down a few more feet, knocking out most of my own air as well, but I immediately realised that Guilmon wasn't moving anymore. Fear bolted through me once more as I struggled to avoid passing out myself. My lungs were screaming as I moved towards the surface – losing speed – losing concentration – and then we were above water.

I had no idea where we were, nor why I couldn't see or hear anything but the water and the rocks behind it. "Guilmon!" I cried, pulling him upwards. I grasped to the nearest rock, then looked to him. He didn't seem to be conscious, and this bothered me even more. I looked around again, then realised that there was something of a cave there. I used the last of my energy and pushed him out of the water and onto the moist cave floor, then dragged my soaked self up with him.

Memories of CPR training from Scouts came flashing back to me like wildfire, and I remembered the most important thing: _"CPR, if not done properly, can cause more damage than it does good."_

With next to no energy left in my body, I tried to think straight. I aligned Guilmon's body in a straight line, trying to straighten out the breathing passage, then tilted his head back to free the throat.

"_What can I do? I don't know if his anatomy is the same as a human's! I don't know if CPR is safe on a digimon!" _I placed my ear against his chest, my index and middle finger against his arteries on his neck. I didn't feel or hear a pulse, and I started to get really worried. Instinctively, I used my middle finger and traced down the centre of his stomach, feeling each rib go by until I felt sure that not only was my finger in the right place, but CPR would likely work on him.

I then placed both my hands together on his chest at the measuring point, then pumped once… nothing… twice… nothing. _"Guilmon! You have to wake up!" _When I came to the eleventh, though, he coughed with a jerking motion, and I heard the partial obstruction in his throat. I leapt up, then looked over in his eyes to create contact. "Keep coughing!" I said loudly. "Coughing means you can still breathe, and that you'll be okay!"

He gave one loud hack, then leaned up, gasping for air. He coughed a few more times, but he seemed to be all right. The moment he stopped coughing, he lunged towards me and hugged me. "Ian-mon!" he gasped as I returned the embrace. "You saved me! But what about your burns?"

My eye twitched faintly as the pain came reeling back to me. In the confusion and the panic I guess I had completely forgotten about the pain. My face, hands and leg started to burn again and the throbbing pain started to force tears from my eyes. Thankfully, I was still completely drenched from the water so they didn't show up, nor did the burns hurt as much as they would've otherwise. "No," I said, gritting my teeth, "they still hurt a lot! But I think I'll be fine for the meantime."

As our heart rates started to return to normal, our thought processing did too. "What happened this time?" Guilmon asked quietly.

I already knew that he was referring to my nightmare. "He was trying to stop us from continuing," I said in a hush, my gaze turning to my feet. We were sitting across from each other, both cross-legged. "He was hitting me, but then I hit him back in the face…" My hand hovered over the burn on my cheek, not daring to touch it for fear that I would burn myself. Guilmon's eyes burned with the revelation that my hand was implying. "And then he threw me away, so I attacked him and grabbed his leg." It was then that I rolled up my pant leg to see the terrible burn beneath it. Both my hands hovered over top of it. "I pinned him, then smacked him across the opposite cheek." My hands made similar motions to the opposite cheek. "And then I woke up to… to that."

Guilmon grabbed my wrists, turning them so that my palms faced upwards. They were deep red and starting to puff up a little. I knew that they would be difficult to move soon. He took my left hand, not daring to touch the burn for fear of hurting me, but his hand did hover over it, as if he sorely wanted to. Then he gently moved my chin, looking extremely carefully at what I knew was another massive pair of burns. He looked briefly at the one on my leg, but he wasn't as worried about it. He and I both knew that my legs were the strongest parts of my body. "…But how could it be you?" he whispered, as if to himself.

"He did say that I can't live without him," I said quietly, looking sadly at my hands.

Guilmon then scooted around beside me, putting an arm over my shoulder and leaning his head on the other. "You put up with so much," he said, "I'm very proud of you, Ian-mon."

A flash of light caught my attention, and when I glanced over my shoulder to see orange lights flickering from behind the waterfall, I remembered about the fire. Instead of making an alarm, though, I simply leaned my head back against Guilmon's, not wanting to bring any more troubles into our case. He knew that there would be a fire, so why bring it up again?

Not long after, we were drifting back into sleep; all the sudden commotion right before we normally would've awoken destroyed our reserved energy far too quickly.

When we did awake again, it was impossible to tell how late or early it might've been. We were both hungry, but thankfully not thirsty. From what we could see through the waterfall, and that alone was darkened greatly by the black ashes that were undoubtedly raining from the sky still, there was still faint light coming through the water, so we assumed that there was still a fire raging on. My stomach rumbled uncomfortably upon awakening, but I ignored it in defiance. Both Guilmon and I had fasted for three long days, so this in comparison was nothing. Unfortunately for us, though, we were too wide-awake now to fall back to sleep, and even if we were vaguely tired, the roaring waterfall would've kept us up anyway.

The only thing left for us to do was to wait, to wait until the water was purified of the thick ashes that seemed to relentlessly continue pouring down. Hours passed in silence, well, at least from our part; the waterfall was loud enough for both of us for ages.

Eventually, the light, whether it had been natural or not was gone, but the water was still dark, so we attempted to sleep once more.

The nightmares that night were quite similar to the ones that I had the first few nights I spent in the Digital World. They were bad, but they weren't as bad as the worst I had experienced. And to make things better, after what seemed like an hour of terror, Guilmon finally appeared and saved me.

My awakening was quite refreshing, I supposed, in comparison to the two nights previous. We looked out to the waterfall and found it completely clear of the ashes, and our roaring stomachs immediately pushed us out into the water. When we started to get up, or rather, when I started to get up, though, I noticed Guilmon's slight hesitation. The second we were both standing, I took his hand in mine and said, "Guilmon, you're going to be fine. Don't let your air out like you did before; if you're going to let any out, keep it at a slow and steady stream. If you can't keep hold of my hand, yank on it and I will help you. I'm sure you remember how to swim, but you have to put those memories to use. Are you okay?"

His eyes were locked on the waterfall, but he took a swig of air and puffed up his chest. "I can do this," he said, holding my hand firmly.

His voice was steady but his hand certainly wasn't. "Come on then," I said, stepping up to the ledge. "On three. One… two…" He squeezed my hand even harder. "THREE!"

We lunged at the waterfall, dropping steeply downwards as the tonnes and tonnes of water came crashing down on us. In less than a second we were completely submerged, shooting down to the bottom of this surprisingly deep pool. The water was clear, but my mind was torn from it as I felt Guilmon pulling frantically at my hand. My eyes darted to his and the bright amber lights that were his eyes were tearing around in absolute fear. His legs and his free arm were kicking wildly around, trying to regain their swimming skills, but to no avail. I pulled him towards me, taking his other arm and swinging him gently over onto my back.

When a burst of bubbles came issuing from his nose, his arms wrapped like vices around my torso and his shaking was completely evident simply from looking now. With no time to calm him down, I started kicking my legs strongly yet evenly making sure I didn't waste all of my energy. My arms shot out in front of me, adding to our speed and a small stream of oxygen came from my nose.

Each second seemed to get steadily more and more frantic as the jets of air from Guilmon seemed more and more frequent.

And then it was freedom.

Our heads came exploding from the water, gasping for the precious air that finally surrounded us once more. Dazzling light blinded us, however, and it took us a minute to adjust. Guilmon was still holding onto me, and I was still treading water, but everything was one step calmer now.

Even Guilmon stopped panicking for the sight that lay before us.

Everything that we had been able to see since our last look at the sky was now black, charred, or still in hot embers. The once mighty trees had crumbled to small and useless stumps and the lush green grass had been burned out of existence. Random limbs were scattered across the land, and most of everything was still smoking lightly.

There was no sign of the dragon, nor of any other living soul for miles. The sight was sickening in a way that no amount of gore could ever hope to accomplish.

The silence was deafening, and as I slowly swam to shore, I did my best to keep it silent so as not to disturb it. I hauled my body out of the water bringing Guilmon on my back with me. We collapsed on the land; both of us already exhausted. Guilmon rolled off of me, still shaking violently from his previous feeling of impending doom, but he was evidently getting better. He then grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet beside him. "Can fires do this much?" he whispered.

"Apparently," I replied in the same hushed tone.

A cool breeze blew over the mountain sending stray ashes into the air and chilling both of us to the bone. Even though the sun was up, there were many thick clouds and it looked like it was going to rain soon. Both of us huddled against each other, still looking around for any danger, but with no sight of any, we started walking in the direction we had been going in the first place.

Not much after an hour, and with a considerable distance left on the mountain before we reached the bottom, we were almost dry after emerging from the water. But, as luck would have it, it only took a bit afterwards for a loud roll of thunder to come falling across the sky. We searched around for anything that would be able to shelter us from a rainstorm, for even I could smell one coming, but to no success. We were completely vulnerable to the elements, and the only trees that could offer us any form of shelter were clear on the next mountain.

Then, if possible, the skies got even darker and the winds became icy. Both of us looked around fearfully: we were completely alone in the Digital World and being exposed to one of nature's worst attacks. We sped up, but not dangerously so, and that's when the first lightning struck signalling the immediate downpour of thick and penetrating raindrops.

In seconds we were drenched almost more than when we were underwater. The water here was colder, though, and I started to shiver as we progressed. Guilmon seemed more tolerant of it, but he was evidently almost as cold as I was. With still several hours left before we would reach even the smallest shrubs, I shrunk further into my shirt no matter how pointless it was and continued onwards.

No matter how strong I had become since getting to the Digital World, I always seemed to be being pressed closer and closer to my limits, but I refused to break. I survived the desert; I survived the frozen wasteland, so I would certainly be able to survive this.

After about twenty minutes of stumbling around blindly in this torrential downpour, Guilmon slipped in a puddle of mud and ash and went crashing to the ground. On the way down his ankle rolled in a precarious manner, and I dropped to the ground beside him to help him up.

"Guilmon!" I said worriedly, "are you alright?"

He moaned in discomfort, his hands moving to his ankle. "It hurts," he groaned, trying to get up.

I shook my head. "Not a chance, Guilmon, you're not walking on that ankle. Eight and a half years of dance certainly taught me that."

"But we have to get out of this rain!" he shouted over a fresh roll of thunder.

"Here," I said, turning around. "Get on my back."

Reluctantly, he carefully put his arms around my neck, and I hoisted him up onto my back. Wrapping my arms around the middle of his legs, I heaved myself upwards and started forwards again.

I remembered fondly the first time I had done this. There were no fears of the future, no troubles to think about, and certainly no prophecy weighing down my shoulders. Now everything had been thrown into doubt, and I was starting to let it get to me. I was already cold, tired and hungry, and now I had more than doubled my own weight with carrying Guilmon while I was at it; I certainly hadn't been thinking things out clearly.

I managed for more than an hour like this; me plodding on, occasionally slipping in puddles of water which seemed to be getting far deeper each time, but managing nonetheless. Guilmon was bushed too, and his head lay on my shoulder, and if it weren't for the crashing of lightning and thunder, he would already be asleep.

Despite the cold, I was sweating profusely, and I thanked the rain for it not letting Guilmon know. I wasn't going to be the weak one here.

I wish the puddle had known that.

The next thing I knew I was face first in the mud with Guilmon crashing in surprise on top of me. "I'm sorry!" I said loudly, trying to get up. When I got halfway up, I fell down again, my eyes getting dizzy and my vision flickering.

"Ian-mon!" Guilmon shouted as I slipped back down to the ground.

He rolled off of me, prying his legs from my frozen and cramped hands, then pulling me out of the mud. Flipping me onto my back, I looked up at him in confusion. Lightning was striking in the background, illuminating his features to a point where he seemed to be more like a puddle than the one I had fallen in. I lifted my hand up gently and placed it on his chest, trying to stop his swaying. "Stop moving," I groaned, finding my voice hoarse, "it's very odd…"

He looked down at himself, then back to me with panic. The back of his hand was immediately against my forehead, but it retreated faster than it came. "Ian-mon!" he cried, "you're burning up! Your fever is terrible!"

My head cocked to the side as he continued to sway, but in a different direction now. "Guilmon? Are you okay?" I put my other hand on his side, trying to stop this incessant swaying that I just couldn't figure out. My hands found nothing of what I saw, and I started to realise that I wasn't okay anymore. "Guilmon!"

Then he leaned in on me, embracing me tightly and pulling me up into a sitting position. "Ian-mon! You're sick, and I can't do anything! I feel so useless again!"

I coughed, proving my sickness to myself. Wrapping my own arms around him, I brought my head to his chest, searching for warmth. His skin was cold and wet, though, but I felt better than before.

When my eyelids started to droop downwards, Guilmon tried to shake me into wakefulness. "Don't leave me!" he cried, squeezing me tightly. "Ian-mon, you can get through this!" He placed his legs protectively around me, then his tail came curling up until I was more than half protected by his body.

My eyes slid closed as water seeped in to reach me, my hair sprawled all over the place. "Thank-you, Guilmon," I murmured quietly as I started to leave consciousness.

"IAN-MON!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Eighteen

_My eyes snapped open to an intense burst of pain from my gut. I gasped for air, clutching at my stomach where a black shoe was rapidly retreating. "Wake up you filth!" he hissed. I looked up to see him, almost darker than usual, and a sour expression on his face. "You're even more pathetic when you're like this."_

_I staggered to my feet, wondering why he was starting this again. We both already knew the pain I could inflict when I touched him. "What do you want?" I asked, turning my back to him in blatant disrespect. _

_"…I thought I should warn you," he said in a sickening sly voice, "you're getting closer."_

_I whipped around to him, but now he was turned to disrespect me. "You made that fire? What the hell is wrong with you? You only hurt the Digital World, not me!" _

_"I don't care if I have to take out the entire Digital World!" he cried. "Besides, if it didn't hurt you, then why are you here? When did you fall asleep, hm?"_

_Anger flashed through my eyes at that statement, but I retracted when I saw the satisfaction in his eyes. _"Does he want me to get angry? Why?"_ "Well, I guess I'll just have to sit this one out then, huh?" I slumped back down to the floor and sat cross-legged, patiently waiting to wake up. _

_He stormed up to me, but I whipped around, my hands bared menacingly. That stopped him in his tracks and he took a few steps back. He huffed angrily, turning his back once more to me._

_"Besides," I said, sounding quite overconfident, "Guilmon will protect me."_

_"I warned you about him," he snarled, bringing back that terrible flash of memory of Guilmon's contorted body. _

_I took a short breath in, trying to quell my uneasy stomach. "And I told you that I can hurt you," I replied, my voice somewhat shaky now._

_He took that opportunity. "When you touch me, you not only burn yourself, but burning me burns you in the same places! Didn't you wonder why you had twice as many burns than you should've?"_

_I took another look at him and smiled viciously as I noticed the red marks on his face and started to realise that he was limping a bit. "I don't care," I sighed, returning my gaze to the white void. _

"_You're dead," he said quietly._

I became aware that I was moving now, but I didn't have enough strength to open my eyes. I could hear the soft thumping of a heart beat, and I assumed that it was Guilmon's. My arms were wrapped around his neck, and he was carrying me in his arms as he walked, a slight limp with every other step. Worry for him struck through me as I realised it was still raining and we were both soaked and cold. "Guilmon," I moaned.

Guilmon stopped in his tracks, then sunk slowly to the ground. I could hear him gasp lightly as he put an uneven pressure on his bad foot. He placed me gently down on the soaked grass, then promptly leaned in and fell on top of me in exhaustion. "You're awake," he said quietly; his teeth were gritted in pain.

My eyes cracked open, taking in Guilmon's shape as another bolt of lightning struck and illuminated everything around us. We were at the bottom of the mountain, and although there were still several trees around us that were burnt to a crisp, I could see in the distance, the near distance, trees that weren't burnt down, and still somewhat green. I guess by the time the fire reached it the rain must've come, or it just decided to stop.

I lifted my arms back up around him, hugging him as much as I could with what little strength I possessed. "You shouldn't have been walking on your ankle," I muttered, "it'll be really bad now."

He laughed a little at this. "Ankles… it always seems to be ankles." A broad smile appeared on his face.

"Oh Guilmon…" My fever was really bad now, I didn't need anyone to tell me that at this point. The burns that covered my body seemed to be acting up again too, so it was like one giant throb of pain and heat. I realised then that this seemed like the end. Neither of us had the strength to go on, and unless it stopped raining reasonably soon, Guilmon would catch a fever too, and that would just be leading us to our graves. He laughed, but I knew that it was hiding both of our fears. _"If we could just get to the trees, we might have a chance at avoiding hypothermia… They're barely a kilometre off; I wonder if I could just…"_ Another swoop of pain abruptly cut off my thoughts.

"I wish I had the strength to keep going," Guilmon groaned, his weight upon me becoming increasingly more evident.

With a surge of effort, I not only stood up myself, but I got Guilmon up too. I was holding him in my arms, although I don't know particularly how; I didn't have any energy left, so this was beyond me. "Guilmon, you're the best friend anyone could ever ask for," I gasped, finding even more energy to speak as I took one painful step forwards. "I'm not going to lose you."

Guilmon's arms tightened around me, his tail curling up and onto my back. "Ian-mon," he said quietly. "Your Crest…"

He moved his arm slightly and I could see that the Crest was indeed glowing. _"Can it give me strength too then? This thing is amazing!" _I took another painful step forward, my legs swaying precariously. Pain still coursed through my body, but I gritted my teeth and took another step.

My seventh step (they were slow enough to make counting a given) landed me in a mud puddle halfway up to my knee. Without a second thought, my toes dug deep into the solid mud beneath and I continued onwards.

Suddenly, I realised that the green trees were in front of us. Somehow I had missed a count and lost track of everything. Guilmon was still conscious in my arms, his grip noticeable, but not painful, but he was silent to conserve all the energy possible. "We're here," I sighed, staggering forwards one more step.

And that was it. I lost all energy and my legs collapsed under me. In a desperate attempt to cause less pain, I twisted to my side and landed on it, instead of Guilmon. The Crest stopped glowing, but just as I started to close my eyes on an almost dry piece of land, the raindrops almost completely subdued from the branches above us, my Digivice started to beep slowly.

But that was the last thing I heard before reeling into the darkness of sleep.

A slow creaking brought me back into wakefulness. I was lying down in what I guessed to be a hammock, and the sun was shining bright into my eyes. There was a deep feeling of nausea somewhere within me, but I couldn't bring myself to say that it was from any medical ailment. The first thing that I really noticed, though, is that I was dry and somewhat warm.

Then I realised that Guilmon wasn't with me and I bolted upwards. My eyes shot open, taking a second to adjust to the light, and I found myself in a hammock about six feet in the air in a small wooden room. I looked up to see not a roof, but an impossibly dense array of branches that almost completely blocked out the sun. Beside the hammock on the wall was a thin ladder, and I immediately grabbed it. I just put my foot on the first rung when the small door I had seen creaked open.

"Ian-mon!"

I scrambled down the last few steps, the whipped around to find myself in a tight embrace with Guilmon. "You're okay!" I cried in relief, looking into his eyes. "How's your ankle?"

Guilmon looked quickly down to it, then back up to me. "Grizzmon said I only rolled it, so it should be better in a week or so."

That's when I stopped and looked around again. "Where are we?" I asked quietly, almost to myself.

Guilmon took my hand and pulled me towards the door. He spoke as he started to open it. "We're now inside the Forest City," he said, introducing me to a jaw-dropping sight.

Lying outside of the door was an entirely new world to anything I'd ever seen in the Digital World. We were on a small balcony with a thin rope bridge that led out into what must've been a city that was suspended within trees. And not just any trees either, these trees were at least twenty feet in diameter, and from where I was there wasn't any ground to be seen at all. For starters, almost everything was a bright, lush, green colour, whether it was the leaves that seemed to come in every shade and in trillions upon trillions, or the vines, or the moss, or anything that could possibly be considered alive yet also an inanimate object. There were also hundreds of houses, buildings, or any other imaginable structure nestled within these trees, either in the forks of the branches (which on their own could pass for the most immense of trees), or on platforms that were intricately placed in a way that boggled the mind. Then there were the swings, the ladders and the bridges that seemed to lace the entire city like a spider web, some intermingling and some that seemed to lead nowhere at all.

My feeling of nausea was immediately overcome by a sense of awe, and although it was still there, it was definitely pushed far aside by the view of this miraculous world.

"That's exactly how I felt," Guilmon said with a grin, leading me towards the bridge. "Come on! There are a lot of people who want to meet you!"

I eyed the rope structure with unease; I had always had a fear of heights, and it was coming back to me now. Ignoring it, though, I followed Guilmon down the bridge, trying even harder to ignore the fact that it was swinging.

We ran across it towards a large platform that had several bridges connecting to it. We continued straight forwards, though, to a huge building that sat in the biggest fork of one of the trees. I only started to notice then all the digimon who were around us. There were hundreds of them, and the ones who spotted us stopped to watch us go by. All of them, however, had the look of animals in my own world, or at least they could be distantly related with a little bit of imagination on my part. Birds, dogs, cats, rodents, lions, tigers, wolves, bears, deer, the list went on. But Guilmon didn't give me time to figure them all out. He dashed across the next bridge and to the doors of the building, stopping at them when two guards stopped Guilmon.

They were two small digimon, they only came up to the middle of my torso, but they looked like they could be dangerous if they wanted to be. They had grey fur, long ears, white bellies and long, sharp claws. "Your business?" they asked in unison.

I caught up to Guilmon then and stood beside him.

"I beg your pardon," the one on the left said, "you are the chosen digimon!"

"Go right ahead," the one on the right added. "They are waiting for you and the digidestined child."

They stepped aside as the doors swung open into a dimly lit room.

I nodded to them, keeping as close to Guilmon as possible without seeming more scared than I actually was. He led me into the giant room, for that's all the building seemed to actually be. Inside was a long table in the middle of the room and bleachers along the walls. Every spot seemed to be filled, the bleachers far more uncomfortably so than the table. The only digimon I could properly was in the middle of the table, and that's because he looked to be on fire. Fortunately I had already seen the digimon called Meramon who was also always on fire, so this didn't shock me much.

Of course, this digimon was also the first one to speak, for the silence in the room seemed to be getting lost. "You've brought the human child," he said. His voice was deep and powerful.

"I brought him here as soon as he was well enough," Guilmon said, holding his gaze level with the digimon.

"And you are well enough, digidestined?" The digimon's fiery gaze locked with my own now, holding me in place. Age and wisdom seemed to glimmer in his piercing green eyes.

I nodded, lost for words.

"Do you know who I am?" the digimon asked, not accusatory, but not in a friendly way either. His tone was very firm. Still at a loss for words, I shook my head. This seemed to make him laugh, but he held it in, a small smile escaping. "I am Lynxmon, leader of the Forest City. I'm sure you've got several questions, and I hope I can answer them all for you. But for now, it will have to wait. Your partner Guilmon, when he came to yesterday, came to us with a startling question. Upon further questioning, we discovered that the two of you are looking for the Gates of Fire. This is a place that no digimon can enter without being destroyed, even if digimon created it. We did not, however, discover why you want to go there, so if you would be so kind as to fill us all in."

This was posed in a way that could be interpreted as a question, but I could tell that I wouldn't have a choice in the matter. With a deep breath, I started to tell the digimon what exactly we were doing. I started from the beginning, since that would be the only place that would make sense. Not one word was spoken as I told them about how I came to the Digital World, and not a gasp was to be heard as I told them about the desert and meeting Gennai. Lynxmon didn't even blink when I told them about the trip from one end of the world to the other. I was quite surprised with myself that I told him about seeing _him_, but I knew that it wouldn't make any sense otherwise. When I finished, there was a lull in the room, my final words echoing off the walls and out the door.

Everyone at the table seemed to be contemplating what I had said. Finally, Lynxmon spoke again. "You say that this figure, the one in your night terrors, is the form of evil, and that he is part of you. You could describe him, I assume?"

I nodded slowly, already looking for a way out of it. "I could, but I can't."

"I fail to see the reasoning for this," the digimon said in a tone of indifference.

"Doing that would be like… I don't know. It would be like naming him, which is just as bad, or even worse." I was very hesitant in saying this, the short distance between Guilmon and I feeling impossibly far. "Just thinking about him is enough to make me tremble in fear and disgust."

Lynxmon nodded knowledgeably. He looked as if he should be wearing glasses so as to look over them. Finally, he continued. "You've given our council a lot to discuss, and I don't expect that we will be finished for quite some time. You and your partner may go and tour the city, and if the need calls for it, you may sleep where you awoke. Thank-you, human child. That is all."

At this he turned away from me, leaving me in faint annoyance and at an anticlimax. Guilmon once again grabbed my hand and led me out of the room as quickly as possible. Once out in the sunlight I let out a huge sigh of relief. "That was very strange, Guilmon," I said, looking to him.

He nodded in agreement, looking down at his ankle. "Are you feeling okay, Ian-mon?" he asked.

"I don't have a fever, and I don't feel the burns anymore, if that's what you mean," I said slowly, bringing back the feeling of nausea that I had been feeling earlier in the day. "What about your ankle?"

He shook his head. "My ankle is a bit sore, but I can walk on it. But what I mean is… I feel something weird right now. It's like I'm going to be sick, but at the same time… it's not really physical, but rather so mentally bad that it feels physical. I can't really explain it."

I stood next to him, putting my arm around his shoulders. "I think I know what you mean, Guilmon, because I've felt like that since I woke up today. I don't know what it could possibly be right now, but I'm starting to think."

He put his arm over mine so that I was sort of supporting his ankle. "Maybe…"

"Maybe it's because we're close to the mountain," I said. "Drimogemon spoke about it like the mountain itself could hurt us."

At this we started back to where I woke up. Silence controlled us until we were back several minutes later and sitting on the floor. I still hadn't thought of what the feeling could really be, and all sorts of thoughts flew about my mind, each one as irrational as the next.

Then Guilmon rolled over onto me, embracing me and putting his cheek hard against my chest. "I… I think it might be th- that we're almost at the end," he said with a stutter. His voice made it seem like tears were coming on soon. "The end where you might make it or… y-you might not. Ian-mon, I don't want to lose you!"

I hugged him back; my chin resting on his head as I came to the realisation that he was right. This could be the end if we found the Gates of Fire. I might not survive the experience after what we read in the book on it. "Guilmon…" I said quietly, struggling to hold back tears.

"Don't leave, Ian-mon!" he cried. I felt cold tears running down his cheek and dissipating into my shirt.

As he tried to curl up in my lap (which wouldn't work because he was the same size as me), I placed one of my hands on the back of his head, trying to comfort him. "Don't worry, Guilmon," I said, trying to sound braver than I actually was. "You're just as important to me as I am to you, and I won't ever leave you! My entire life is here, in this world, with you, and it won't be destroyed because of some stupid prophecy. Guilmon, you are my best friend in two worlds, and we won't ever be torn apart."

His big amber eyes looked up to mine, a sad smile on his face.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a scared voice.

With a firm nod, I replied, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

He returned his head to my chest, getting comfortable. "Thank-you, Ian-mon," he said quietly, sinking into sleep.

I leaned my head back against the wall.

There was a lot to think about now.


	19. Chapter 19

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Nineteen

I woke with a start, unsure of what had woken me. Guilmon was still sleeping on me, so I knew that it wasn't him. When the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise, I looked up to see several tiny digimon at the edges of the room, watching us with wide eyes full of anticipation. As my gaze landed on them, they all started and hid slightly behind the walls, still watching us, though.

A smile spread across my face, and I tapped Guilmon awake. His eyes fluttered open and I directed his gaze to the small digimon. There were white blobs like ghosts, then small red balls with little lumps on their heads, white balls of fluff with ears, white balls of hair with blue ears and faces, small catlike ones, more balls of fur every direction, they were really quite cute.

"They're babies," Guilmon said, the same smile already on his face.

At that, they started giggling, then bounced away into the foliage. I laughed a bit at them, unsure of how I should've acted. "They were watching us sleep," I said, finding it comforting and flattering, rather than how I normally would've felt: uncomfortable.

"Most of the digimon here were asking me to show you to them when you were still asleep," he said, looking up to me. "I only stopped them because you needed your rest and to get better. We should probably go out and let them see you, though."

"Why are they interested in me?" I asked, still somewhat bothered by all the attention I seemed to be getting from just being human.

"Digimon feel that by being closer to a digidestined, they'll be part of history, part of something so great that they'll be talked about for centuries to come." He almost laughed about it. "I know that I'd be doing the same if I were in their position. Remember how those Gazimon acted when they saw you earlier? That's how important you can be."

I guessed that the Gazimon were the guards from the building. "Still…"

"Plus, how many humans do they get to see?" He tilted his head to the side in amusement. "Something like, one every few centuries. You're an important figure to these people."

"Not all of them," I said darkly, remembering the Golligamon from Populous Beach.

"Some people just aren't comfortable knowing that the future of their lives and everyone else's are in the hands of not just one person, but one child." At this point Guilmon stood up and took my hand, helping me up.

"How's your ankle?" I asked, noticing that he was still favouring it a bit.

"Fine," he replied, waving it off as best he could. "I can put lots of pressure on it."

"Good," I said, putting my shoulder under his to support him a bit. Then we went to the door, opened it, and there they were: they were what looked to be about two or three hundred digimon crowded on the patio, the bridge, the trees around us, and some were even floating of flying. As soon as the door was completely open, the broke out into cheers, simply ecstatic to see Guilmon and I.

An orange dinosaur who was about as tall as my waist came up, grabbed my free hand and started shaking it vigorously. "I'm Agumon," he said with a huge smile. Then came a pink bird, a giant beetle thing, a small digimon made of rocks, and a white digimon with a red mane and purple markings all over his body. They quickly introduced themselves as Biyomon, Tentomon, Gotsumon and Gomamon.

"There's so many of them!" I gasped quietly to Guilmon.

"Don't worry about memorising their names or anything," he said calmly, "they'll be content to meet you once."

For the next couple of hours, Guilmon and I got led around the city by the digimon around me, while most of the others simply followed. The only one who seemed to really stay, though, was Gomamon, and while we went, he cracked jokes every so often, eliciting a roar of laughter from the crowd. Many others stayed for quite some time, but I couldn't help but notice him from the corner of my eye.

Eventually, though, I started to wonder what we would do for a meal, as the light seemed to be fading. This was quickly solved, however, by coming upon a restaurant; it was comfortably small and had a rowdy chef within it who we later learned to be Veggiemon. I felt kind of bad, and I could tell the Guilmon did too, when he came with two steaming plates of food (most of which consisted of fruits and vegetables since all forms of meat were scarce so high within the trees) but they were done formidably. There was a rice-like mixed with sauces that gave it a much different consistency, potatoes (these surprised me as I hadn't seen another piece of food that resembled something from my own world since the first day I landed in the Digital World) along with many other things in it, it was a meal to remember, for I hadn't had one quite so filling since I left Leomon's diner, what seemed so long ago.

Some of the other digimon ate, but most of them were more concerned with what I was doing, or at least what Guilmon was doing.

For that I was glad, that Guilmon got some attention too, for not only would I feel really strange by having all the attention on me, but I would feel bad because I wouldn't want Guilmon to get jealous or feel left out.

Once the meal was done, I thanked Veggiemon several times, trying to find a way to repay him, but he simply wouldn't have it. So with that, I shook the closest things he had to hands, then Guilmon did, and then we left with not as many digimon following us. Not long after we left, another digimon came running. This one was a bit like a dog: he was orange with indigo, wavy stripes and had several long feather things for a tail. He also had long ears with indigo stripes and big electric blue eyes.

He stopped before us, out of breath, pausing to catch it, before he spoke. "I have a message from the council," he said, looking up to us, for he barely reached my knees. "They need a bit more time to discuss the matters at hand, and they will send for you in the morning."

I smiled kindly to him, then thanked him before he was back off on his way.

"That was Elecmon," Guilmon whispered. "He's not usually that shy."

With a laugh we continued on, now heading back to our room. As we went, some of the few digimon left, and when I had just shaken hands with a tall fox called Renamon, I was left with Guilmon and Gomamon. We continued walking, silence now upon us since everything to talk about seemed to already have been said.

"So how about this weather?" Gomamon asked with a big grin.

Guilmon and I both laughed, and then I said, "it's been fair today, but I remember quite a storm not too long ago."

Gomamon nodded his head, remembering it. "We were all grounded in our houses then; the storm was quite bad."

That night flashed through both my mind and Guilmon's mind, and we both shuddered in fear of those memories. "Indeed it was," I agreed.

Before we knew it, we were standing on the porch of our room, and Gomamon was still there. I didn't know whether or not to invite him in; it seemed rather awkward. First, it wasn't my home to invite other into, and second, we had just met him and couldn't find how to say it. "Well," Guilmon said with a yawn, "I think we'd better be off. We don't know what tomorrow holds, so we need our rest."

Gomamon's face fell at those words, so I squatted down in front of him and took his front paws in my own hands. "It's been wonderful meeting you, Gomamon, and I'm glad we got the chance to hang out. If you want, you can come and find us in the morning, if we're not called off too early by the council."

His big smile returned after that, and he nodded vigorously before rushing off down the bridges.

I smiled at Guilmon, then opened the door back to the room and walked in. Darkness was really starting to settle in at this point, and we could hardly see where we were. For both my safety and his, when we managed to bump into the hammock below the one I had slept in, we both crawled into it. Besides, they were huge to start with so it's not like it was crowded.

I nodded off to bed with the soft sway of the hammock and the creak it emitted from the walls, quite content with how the day had turned out.

_Tall trees surrounded me in the darkness, tall foreboding trees with grey limbs and black leaves. As I walked, the trees seemed to become even more looming in the dark, and fear started to course through me. My pace picked up a little, then in no time I was in a fall out sprint, looking for a way out. So, as soon as light started to filter through, I dashed forwards to find the light, coming upon it faster than I should've. The next thing I knew I was in the middle of a blazing forest fire, my burn marks instantly coming to life in a collage of pain. _

_Sparks jumped and cracked, branches fell and ashes smouldered. Then an array of sparks came at me, my clothes catching flame. A scream tore from my mouth and I dropped to the ground, rolling around, trying to get the flames out. This seemed to only make them worse, though, and the pain started to rack up. _

"_Guilmon!" I screamed, rolling faster on the ground until all of a sudden, I was falling through a black abyss. _

I landed with a thud on the floor of our room in a thick sweat. It was still dark out and I could hear the hammock creaking from the motion caused, but something about it was wrong. It should've been louder because of Guilmon's weight, and it was then that I heard voices from outside.

Pain still coursed through my body, my burns taking most of the heat, and when I stood up I got a severe head-rush that nearly put me back on the floor. As best I could, I went to the door, opened it, and there sitting with their legs over the edge in the moonlight were Guilmon and Gomamon, talking quietly.

The sound from the door caught their attention and they whipped around to see me standing there, drenched in sweat. "Ian-mon," Guilmon said in shock, "you shouldn't be awake at this hour!"

It was then that I realised how cold it was to be outside in the middle of the night when you're soaked in sweat. "What are you doing awake out here?" I asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb the night.

Gomamon turned around and bowed his head deeply. "I'm sorry," he said, equally as quiet as I, "I had to talk about a few matters to Guilmon, and they couldn't wait. My apologies for intruding upon you at this late hour."

I shook my head, realising the importance of this conversation. "Would it be improper of me to join this conversation?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself to attempt to keep warm.

Guilmon shook his head. "Not at all." He moved a bit away from Gomamon. "Come, sit. You must be freezing in this cold."

Gratefully, I sat down next to him, leaning onto his side as I did so. He gave me a concerned look when he noticed my condition, but I gently shook my head, not wanting to discuss it in front of Gomamon. "So what brings you here at this time?" I asked Gomamon, turning my attention to him.

"Well," he said, his eyes moving to his feet, "I was wondering about humans… I've heard so much and read so much about them – I mean you – and I just had to know about you from a digimon's perspective." He started to go red in embarrassment. "I've been hearing legends about human children coming to our world in times of great need, chosen humans who are here to save the Digiworld from utter annihilation, since I was in Primary Village." He really started to go red now. "I've kind of wanted to… to go to the human world."

My eyes widened in shock knowing perfectly well what would happen to a digimon in my old world. "Is it that you want to have a human partner?" I asked tentatively.

He nodded discreetly.

A gentle breeze picked up, chilling me, and Guilmon wrapped his arms around me for protection. "I think then that the better choice would be to do what Guilmon did," I said firmly. "My world is not a place for digimon. It's almost impossible to fathom what would happen to you if you were there for an elongated period of time. Although the children might accept you, I know that if the adults even got wind of you, you would be in the darkest depths of a research facility before the day was gone." I was trying not to scare him too much, but I just couldn't hold back these examples. "Even some humans aren't safe in that world, just for being born different."

Gomamon looked at me in disbelief, his dreams seemingly falling to shambles before my eyes. "But… but why? We're not like that to human children…"

I nodded gently, trying to reassure him. "That's why I don't want to go back there," I said. "If it were any other way, I would go there with you at first light to find you a partner, but I'm too scared to return there. I know that if I went back now, I would probably be treated about the same as a digimon. I've been gone for more than a month now, just disappeared after I ran out of my mom's car on the Port Mann Bridge. For starters, if I told them the truth about where I've been, I would be put in an insane asylum for the rest of my life, and if I didn't say anything, I would be put into therapy until I did say something, and still I would end up in an asylum. The unexplainable scares adults, and unless they can find logic behind something, they'll try their best to stamp it out of existence so it won't bother them anymore. Besides," I added, looking up to Guilmon, "I could never risk losing Guilmon."

This seemed to depress Gomamon even more now. "But if there… a way… if there was…" His hopes were shattering.

I put a hand on his head, patting him gently. "You'll get your chance, I know it," I said with a smile. "A great digimon like you, you can't go for too long now without your wishes coming true."

He looked up at me with a faint smile. I wondered if he knew I was just trying to make him feel better, but I did my best to hide it. "Thanks," he said, looking out over the trees. "I hope the council helps you. I really think that they should."

"Why is this such a big deal?" Guilmon asked. "What is so wrong with that mountain?"

Gomamon looked up to us now with a serious look on his face. "The digimon around these mountains know that the mountain is cursed, and when we get strangers looking for it, we will not take a chance in letting the curse spread. Even though digimon cannot step foot within the mountain, the whole area is said to be cursed. It is a very serious matter and there are usually only two opinions on it: bad, or worse than bad."

"What curse?" I asked.

He looked away in fear of the thought. "The curse of the half-dead." At that he clamped his mouth shut and refused to speak more on the subject.

Silence ruled for a bit longer before Gomamon piped up again.

"Thank-you for letting me talk to you," he said, bowing politely. "I'm sorry that I came so late, but if I was too late in the morning, I might've missed you."

"It's been educational," Guilmon said with a smile, standing up with me.

I shook hands with Gomamon once more before he waved and returned back down the bridge.

We started inside, Guilmon yawning widely, baring his sharp teeth and his tongue curling like a dog's. Then he looked to me with slight worry, his arms still around me. "What was it?" he asked.

"Just a night terror again," I replied. "It was a burning forest, then I caught on fire before I fell into a black abyss." I shuddered as the heat seemed to come back to me. "It makes the burns feel really bad," I added with a shudder.

Guilmon got back into the hammock with me. "I'm sorry I left without waking you," he said. "You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to disturb one of your first decent sleeps in this world."

I hugged him in thanks. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Guilmon."

Guilmon and I both awoke to the sound of someone knocking on our door. Prying ourselves out of bed we went to the door to find Gazimon, one of the guards, waiting in earnest then bowing deeply when he saw us. "The council is ready for you to come now," he said, feeling quite humbled by our presence. "If you're ready…"

We nodded, stepping out the door and following him back to the large building where the other Gazimon was waiting. I thanked them before stepping back into the giant, dark room.

As before, Lynxmon was sitting in the middle of the table, his flames glowing in the dark and setting a strange light upon the walls and floor. He gazed at the two of us with his ever-piercing eyes, as if with the same anticipation that all the other digimon seemed to feel around us, and yet also a sense of duty that was tormenting him. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of him, the council, and all the other digimon in the room staring at us, he spoke.

"The council has made its decision, digidestined," he said, a hint of regret in his voice. "We will direct you to the mountain, but only on one condition, do you choose to abide by this condition? For it applies to the two of you."

I looked to Guilmon who gave a slight nod to me. Returning my eyes to the council, or more specifically Lynxmon, I said, "we do."

The fiery digimon sighed, almost zoning out. He mumbled something discreetly, and I could almost make the words, 'of course you would,' out. "The condition, if you are to know how to get to the mountain, assuming that you would go there, is that you may never return to Forest City. If you should," he hesitated here, "we would be forced to remove you from our city. The mountain is cursed, and we do not want to have to deal with an epidemic or a civil war. Our ways have kept us together as a city for aeons, and we do not see changes any time in the near future. Do you still want to go to the mountain?" He seemed hopeful now, hoping that we wouldn't want to go.

Guilmon nodded. "Yes we do," he said firmly.

All hope that had been in Lynxmon had now left. "The mountain is seventy kilometres due north, or rather two mountains forwards from where you are standing now. Good-luck on your journey, and unfortunately I hope that we do not have you before our council again."

Both Guilmon and I bowed deeply as seemed to be the custom in these parts. "Thank-you all very much," I said. "You have a beautiful city, and it's unfortunate that we will not be able to visit it again."

We left then, finding ourselves in a large crowd of digimon. It seemed that all the ones we had met yesterday had returned with friends. The two Gazimon who guarded the doors seemed proud to be in the front of such a large crowd, and they were waiting in anticipation for us to speak. Even as I opened my mouth to tell them, the seemed to lean forwards a bit. "We will be leaving your city now," I said. "We must get back on our journey, but it is the council's wish for us not to return here when we are finished."

The crowd had been disappointed at my first words, but when I was finished they were booing loudly, obviously directed to their council.

The first Gazimon looked up to me and said, "I will show you to the exit." He started into the crowd, and Guilmon and I reluctantly followed.

From the second we got to the first people in the crowd, we were cascaded in applause, handshakes, and in several cases, hugs. It was only about fifty feet on the platform from one side to the other, but the whole thing took us about half an hour to get through. I was glad that Guilmon got almost as much attention as I did too. Many of these digimon I didn't know, but they all seemed to know me well, and I was sad that we wouldn't be able to come back. Then again, the Digital World was a huge place, so it wouldn't be a complete loss.

When we did eventually reach the opposite end of them, I was feeling really bad now, as if we had made the wrong decision. Gazimon was waiting patiently for the two of us, and as we received our last hugs from the digimon, we followed him with lead footsteps down several bridges, staircases, and in one case, a ladder. About seven minutes of following, we were at a set of platforms with railings around them, clearly separate from the rest of the floor.

"Here we are," he said, opening one of the railings for us. We were right at the middle of one of the great trees, and the trunk was simply massive. Guilmon and I stepped into the small platform, Gazimon closing the gates to us. Before anything else, though, I stuck out my hand to him.

"Thank-you very much for this, Gazimon," I said. "I wish we were able to come back and spend more time in your city."

"It's very unfortunate that the council made that decision," he said, accepting my hand and shaking it. "I'm glad I got the chance to meet you both." Guilmon shook his hand now.

"Thanks again," I said, bowing.

Gazimon bowed in return, then said, "down platform."

A light whirring sound appeared and the platform began to descend. The last thing I saw of the city was Gazimon's feet as they disappeared above my head.

Over an hour later, we reached the bottom of the tree and the gate opened as if on it's own will to let us out. As we stepped out, the gate closed and the platform started the long trip back up to the city.

We were then standing in a forest of not just the giant trees that housed Forest City, but also several trees of varying sizes; few could come close to the giant tree's grandeur. Both of us were silent during the trip, other than gasping at the view we had had when coming down.

"Which way is north?" I asked, looking around in confusion.

Guilmon stuck his nose in the air, sniffing around, then pointed to our left. "This way," he said, starting that way.

The meeting with the council had left me with a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't the same as the feeling Guilmon and I shared, nor was it actual sickness… I couldn't explain it properly. It was almost like rejection, but different even there. Maybe because I was being deprived of something wonderful? Deprived of interesting people who were interested in me? It was difficult to explain even to myself. Before I let it get to me, though, I caught up with Guilmon and took his hand in mine.

He looked over to me, concern in his eyes, but I shrugged it off.

"Everything okay?" he asked, even though he had practically already asked.

"I think so," I replied with a smile.


	20. Chapter 20

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Twenty

That night we found ourselves at the bottom of the mountain we had been on. I still was at a loss as to how we managed to get up to Forest City, but I realised that it would be pointless to ponder about it now that we couldn't even go back to ask. It hadn't been difficult to find food for dinner; the trees on this mountain were plentiful with fruit.

I knew that we had come quite far north since entering these mountains, mainly because we were in the valley and it was still exceptionally cold at night. Why we weren't bothered by the cold in the treetops of Forest City was beyond me, but again, there wasn't a way to find out now.

When night actually fell and we had our fire blazing brightly, it was getting really cold. I was surprised that we hadn't seen any snow on the tops of the mountains, but then again, it might've been summer and then there wouldn't be any snow anyway.

Guilmon slumped back to the ground, looking up at the stars. When a smile spread across his face, I leaned back too, my head on his chest. "What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I really don't know," he said. "I just feel kind of happy right now. It's really strange, because after everything, I shouldn't be happy like this."

I lightly smacked his shoulder with the back of my hand. "There's nothing wrong with being happy," I said, my attention starting to zone out into the stars. "There's only a problem with being too unhappy, no matter what's happened."

"That's very true," he said, the two of us starting to sound very philosophical.

Sleep crept upon the two of us, and we were both barely awake enough to put the fire out. There would be no more chances after the last fire, no matter how cold it was. Then I promptly fell asleep with Guilmon.

"_You're pushing it," he said with a hiss._

_I smiled at him, almost genuinely. "I guess I am," I replied. With that, I sat down, cross-legged, and closed my eyes. _

_Darkness swivelled around my vision, and I opened my eyes to find him glaring at me, inches away from my face. "You know what I can do," he snarled._

_Anger twitched through me, and I shoved him away, my hands pressing against his chest as I did so. He howled in pain, and I feared what would happen when I awoke. "And you know what I can do," I growled back. "I'm not afraid of it anymore. So just try it; I'll best you any day."_

_He had stumbled back and landed on the ground. It was quite undignified, and he pride was obviously stung, something that I hadn't done before. _

"_You want it?" he asked with a bit of hysteria in his voice. "You got it. Best this!" _

_He snapped his fingers, instantly bring back the darkness and the pain. Not only was it heat, but it was physical pain. I grappled with it all, twitching in pain, screams tearing from my mouth as I did. It hadn't hurt this much ever before, and I was in tears in seconds. Tearing at my skin, my bones bending back in forth in ways that they shouldn't have. Then something was grabbing at my hair, tearing at it so painfully I feared my scalp would come off with it. _

_Blood started to drip from me, whether it was my mouth, my nose, invisible cuts, I was getting really scared. No thoughts could process in this, and I simply knew pain. Screaming, earth shattering pain. _

"Ian-mon!" Guilmon shouted, shaking me awake.

My eyes snapped open and I embraced him in a flash. "Guilmon!" I cried shortly, my arms pressing hard into him.

"You don't normally scream like that," he whispered, worried to the point of shaking. It was still dark out, but the sun was about to rise. The light hissing of coals in the fire was somewhat calming.

"I'm sorry," I replied, looking in his eyes. "You must get so little sleep with me always being… like this."

He shook his head. "I know that your sleep is far more tormented than my own, so it's not too bad in comparison." He stood up, taking my hand and pulling me up beside him. "The sun's almost up, we might as well get going."

I nodded, agreeing with him.

We went and found some breakfast, getting a fair distance before the sun actually rose. After a while, when Guilmon was a little bit ahead of me, I opened the second and third buttons on my shirt, checking my chest for burn marks. Not to my surprise, I found two hand-shaped burns, and when I aligned them with my own hands, they were a perfect match.

"What are you doing, Ian-mon?" Guilmon asked.

I looked up, my hands darting for the buttons before I hoped Guilmon would notice. When I realised that he had already noticed, I still tried to button them up, but my hands were quivering in fear at what I had found and I couldn't get them done up.

"What is it?" he asked, his smile starting to fade. He took the sides of my shirt, exposing my chest and the burns on it. He gasped lightly, looking down to my hands, then back to the burns, and then to my eyes. "Those aren't…"

I returned my hands to them, making him tear my hands away from my chest. "I can touch him now," I whispered in fear, "but this is what it does."

"It burns you?" he asked with a quavering voice.

I sighed, not wanting to tell him the truth. Telling someone, or anyone, would only be making it true. That was something that I didn't want to accept, that he could be… _"No. It's not."_ "Yes," I replied, not entirely lying.

He hugged me tightly, his quivering not stopping. "Night terrors should never be this real," he whispered, patting me on the back.

"It's okay," I said. "I've known since Leomon's bar. This is only the second time."

"It's not okay!" he cried. "Nothing should be like this! This is madness!" He hugged me again.

"Didn't you know that's why we're going to the Gates of Fire?" I asked.

"That was the… the darkness!" he exclaimed. "That was the night terrors! You weren't waking up with burn marks all over you then!"

"It's been getting worse since we entered the mountains," I said, trying to brush it off again. "We have just a good day's walk left before they're going to be gone, can we just get there first?"

Guilmon let me go, looking worriedly into my eyes. I gazed firmly back into his eyes, trying to show him that I would be all right. "We don't know for sure that that's what it will do," he said. "You know just as well as I what the Gates have done, and I don't want to lose you!"

"If you'll be strong for me," I said gently, holding both his hands, "you won't have to."

He sighed with frustration. "But…"

"Guilmon, if you aren't strong enough for this, how am I going to be?" I asked. "Now please, can we get there? If we get there before night, I won't have to have any more."

He sighed once more, letting go now. "Come on then," he said in a huff, turning around and continuing walking.

The day seemed to go by far faster then it should've, and when we reached the top of the next mountain, we decided to take a break for lunch. Finding some more fruits, we sat down on a few large rocks and ate in silence.

That had been the closest thing we had ever had to a fight, and I was starting to feel really bad about it. It was my own stupid ignorance that was making this worse because I didn't want him to worry.

Finally, I got up the nerve to say something. "Guilmon?"

He looked up at me, his eyes not really focusing showing his mind was off still.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," I said, standing up. "I've been pushing aside your efforts to worry for me, and I know that you're just trying to keep me safe. It's very rude of me… and I'm sorry."

Now he was focused. "It's nothing," he said.

That was a sting to my weak spot. My mouth opened in shock at what he said, I was completely aghast that he had said that. "…Guil-" I tried to start. Then I shook my head. With that I turned around and stormed on, leaving Guilmon there. _"How could he say that?" _I thought. _"I know that I hurt him, but he doesn't need to whip it around like that when I was apologising!" _I roared a bit in anger, not just at Guilmon but at myself too. I was letting this turn into a fight.

I ducked under a branch, when all of a sudden there wasn't any ground under my front foot. I pitched forwards, all anger leaving me and being replaced with complete and total fear. I was falling over an impossibly steep cliff, one that went on for about four hundred feet at an almost ninety degree angle. A scream tore from my mouth, and then all of a sudden I was falling.

But it didn't last long before I was stopped by an awkward tree going straight out of the cliff. When I landed on it, it shifted downwards a bit, and I froze on the spot, not daring to move.

I looked around for a way to get out of this, not seeing any decent handholds or footholds for a few feet up.

"Guilmon!" I called out, glad that I hadn't gone far. "Help me!"

In a few moments I heard scrabbling at the top of the cliff and I shakily looked up to see Guilmon's head sticking over the edge, some seven feet above me. "Ian-mon!" he called out. "Are you okay?"

I nodded lightly, quivering in fear. "I think that the tree might fall out!" I wasn't even trying to hide how scared I was.

He leaned over as far as he could, reaching his arm out and down to me.

Still scared out of my mind, I tried standing up, but as soon as I was almost completely up, the tree shifted underneath me again, and I bolted back down to the same position. "It's going to break!" I cried, almost in tears at how scared I was.

"Come on!" he shouted. "You can reach me in time!"

I shook my head, standing up again as I did so, and this time the tree didn't move. Slowly, I reached my arms up to his, and I could just touch the tips of his long claws. "You're too far!" I cried, tears reaching my eyes now.

"Jump!" he said, "and I'll catch you!"

I gulped deeply, trying to quell my churning stomach. "Okay," I said gently.

"On three," he said. "One… two… three!"

I leapt upwards with all the force that I could and the crumbling of the tree scared me again, but I kept my hands open. Guilmon's hands wrapped painfully tight around them, and I did to him too, but one of my hands slipped free of his grasp. A scream tore from my mouth as I dangled there by one hand, and the crumbling sound came again as the entire tree dislodged itself from the cliff and started to fall to the bottom.

"Give me your other hand!" Guilmon called desperately, trying to pull me up.

Frantically, I reached my hand up as much as I could, and my hand reached his, closing firmly in it. "Guilmon!" I sobbed.

He heaved as hard as he could from being on his stomach and I inched up the mountain, my stomach grinding against the cliff side. "Hold on, Ian-mon!" he roared angrily. "You have to hold on!"

He pulled again, and I made it further up.

A few more heaves, and I was at the edge of the cliff, trying desperately to pull myself up now too. "Come on!" he roared, pulling one last time before I came flying up off the side and onto the ground.

I grabbed his hands and pulled him and my own shaking body several meters away from the edge before holding him up and hugging him tightly. "Oh my god," I breathed heavily. "Guilmon, you're the best person on the planet!"

He hugged me back, equally as scared as I had been, and didn't let go. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was awful of me to say. I wasn't controlling my mouth."

"I deserved it," I replied, my chin resting on his shoulder. "I should be more receptive to your worries; you're my best friend in two worlds, and I don't know what I would do without you. I know you worry because you care, and I should take it better than I have been. That's very selfish of me."

"I think I'm just a bit irritable because… because we're so close now," he said.

I didn't even need to think about it to know what he was referring to. "I'll come back," I said firmly. "Don't you worry about that."

We let go and he laughed a little.

From there we edged back towards the cliff, being extremely careful now. We looked over the edge to see nothing but rocks, and then what lay ahead.

There was no doubt that that was the right mountain on the opposite end of the barren valley. It was about three times bigger than any of the mountains we had seen, and it was sharp and jagged all the way up. It seemed so unnatural to have sun shining on it; it was more like one of those mountains that should have black clouds and lightning all around it. What made sense, though, was that it was made entirely of a dark, almost black, stone with not a hint of vegetation to be seen on it. The entire valley surrounding it was just plain stone, either flat rock or several miles of jagged stones and like the mountain, no plants whatsoever.

"How do we get down there?" I asked warily, backing away from the edge again.

"There," Guilmon said, pointing to our right. "We'll go down there."

I looked where he was pointing and what I saw shocked me. It looked like a staircase that had been torn into the cliff side. It was perilously steep with no form of railings, and at places it was a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn from one step to the next. Most of the thing was pressed right up against the side of the mountain, but there were some parts that just went out into open air. The steps didn't look too level either, and I got chills just looking at it. "What?" I asked, my voice becoming impossibly quiet.

"If we start now we'll be at the bottom before nightfall," he continued, standing up with me.

"It looks too dangerous!" I moaned. "Isn't there another way?"

Guilmon shook his head. "None that wouldn't take a couple more days of travel. Besides, if you avoid it now, you'll be scared of heights like this for the rest of your life!" He smiled widely now, obviously trying to make up for our little spat.

With a deep sigh I gave in.

A few minutes later we were at the top of this strange staircase, looking down to the bottom of the cliff. If it hadn't been completely dry now I would've refused, but now the only reason seemed to be that I was afraid.

"Here," Guilmon said, taking a step down. "I'll go first, and you can follow me."

A quiet moan escaped my lips as he disappeared beneath my feet, and I reluctantly followed after him.

I quickly realised that this would be painfully slow, for neither of us could walk down them on only two feet, and the entire time we had to keep our stomachs in, otherwise we would've lost balance, and then that would be the end. Guilmon tried to keep me motivated and confident, but I could tell that he too was having second thoughts about taking this choice.

Step by step, inch by inch, within half an hour our limbs were screaming for us to stop. So we did. Leaning in against the rocks we laid our heads against their cold surfaces. We didn't wait too long, though, before we forced ourselves to get going again.

A bit more than an hour later we were about halfway down the stairs. It was still an impossibly long way down from what I could see, but we hadn't come across any problems, so I wasn't complaining.

We had stopped for another break for a few minutes, and we got back to going down.

This is where things started to get bad.

Guilmon took a few steps down and he slid a little bit. A shout of surprise left him and a few shards of rock tumbled down the mountain. He held fast until everything was quiet again, and then I asked, "are you alright, Guilmon?"

"Yeah," he sighed, still frozen to the spot. "Watch out for this one step… it's got a smooth side."

I nodded, seriously noting it.

A few moments later _I _slipped on the same spot, my foot sliding out underneath me. I yelped as my other foot slipped out too, and I was all of a sudden dangling there by my arms. "Ian-mon!" Guilmon cried, stopping in his tracks. "Are you okay?"

My heart was racing; I could feel it racing in my throat. My feet were scrambling around frantically for a foothold, but I was at a loss and my arms were already half-dead. "I can't find somewhere for my feet!" I cried, panic starting to sink in.

"Calm down," he crooned, trying his best to stay calm himself. "Just put your foot down a few inches."

My arms were already stretched as far as they would go, and there was not nearly enough strength to hold myself up as I climbed down to the step. "I can't," I moaned.

"If you let go you'll only drop about three inches, I promise," he said.

"Are you insane?" I almost screamed. I was on the verge of hysteria now.

"Just do it," he said softly. "You're almost there as it is. If you calm down, you can just slide down and you'll be there."

I gulped my fear, sweat coming down like bullets. My heart racing still, I slowly eased my fingers free, then there was a brief rush as I slid down a little bit, my feet levelling out as they reached the step.

"There, you see?" he said with a smile. "I told you you'd be fine."

I was about to agree when the step shifted and crumbled beneath me. Another scream tore from my mouth and I slipped out into the open air right over Guilmon's head. Guilmon cried out too, his hands darting out but not reaching me as I flipped backwards over him, the rock following me as I went. Still screaming, I landed with a painful 'thud' a few feet below Guilmon, then rolled a few more until I started to slip over the edge. "Oh my god!" I cried, my arms scrabbling around for something to hold onto, but when I did find something, my nails scratched on it and cracked up to the quick. The next thing I knew I was hanging over the edge by one hand, nothing beneath my feet for ages yet. "Guilmon!" I screamed, my heart racing even faster now.

"Hold on!" he cried, scrambling down as fast as he could to me.

The next thing I heard were the rocks that had dislodged hitting the ground far, far below, shattering to pieces.

"Don't let go!" he shouted, appearing above me.

My one arm was still dangling at my side, every few seconds darting for the ground that I was holding onto with my other.

He reached down, extending his hand far past the one holding me up. "Give me your hand," he said firmly.

I swung my arm up to his, making connection with his palm, but not having enough energy to hold it there. Twice more I did it before he caught it, putting both of his hands on it and pulling up as hard as he could. In one heave I was up, embracing him with tears in my eyes. "That's twice today!" I sobbed, pushing my cheek into his shoulder as his arms wrapped around me.

"You shouldn't be counting, he muttered, holding tightly onto me, as if for reassurance that I was actually there.

Another two hours later we were on the last few steps, our hands and feet covered in bruises, cuts and dried blood. When I spotted the ground only a few feet below me, I leapt down from above Guilmon and landed hard on the ground. My feet stung terribly, and I collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Guilmon appeared beside me, also dropping to the ground, and we just lay there, resting our aching limbs.

"Any complaints if we just wait here for a while?" I asked through hard breathing.

"None," Guilmon gasped.

Almost half an hour later we finally stood up, looking at the barren landscape before us. It hadn't seemed as bad from a bird's eye view, but this was simply pitiful. There was nothing but rocks. No moss, lichen, shrubs, not even algae growing on the rocks.

"I guess we're going to be fasting for a little while," I groaned, looking around for a sign of anything.

"Well, the sun will be down in a few hours, so I guess we'd better get as much distance covered as possible," Guilmon said. "It's a small valley anyway, we might just be able to make it across."

I looked up at the darkening skies with suspicion. There were some pretty menacing looking clouds swirling around the edges, and I wasn't sure if they could be a problem or not. There were so many things to be wary about now in the Digital World, or at least so many more that I've become aware of. Weather, climate, and of course, digimon. It was all very unsettling if I let myself thing about it too much.

"I suppose you're right," I sighed, my three middle fingers slipping into my side pockets. "Might as well just get this over with."

Neither of us were eager to keep going after the staircase, but it didn't seem like there was any good reason to stop. So, with feet like lead, we started dragging ourselves across the valley.


	21. Chapter 21

Digiworld Adventure

Part Twenty-One

The sun was grazing the horizon as we reached about the middle of the valley. The clouds I had been eyeing up before had come over us, but it didn't look or smell like it was going to be fierce. In fact, a few minutes later, a small drizzle started. It was pleasant, unlike the last time we had had rain, and we lifted our tired heads to the skies and opened our mouths, welcoming the refreshing, cool water.

A bit after the rain ended, not ten minutes after it started, we happened upon a small puddle of it, and without any other bodies of water anywhere around, we drank gratefully from it, nearly draining it.

I got up, stretching my still sore arms, and looked out on the horizon. It was a bit dim, but something about the landscape had changed. A large boulder that I hadn't seen before was about a kilometre off from us. I started to point it out to Guilmon, but he had tensed up, his nostrils flared. "Trouble," he said quietly, his pupils now slits.

My shoulders slumped in exhaustion. "Now?" I griped. "You'd think we'd get a bit of a break!" I started as I realised the boulder was getting closer at an amazing pace.

"It's Rockmon, champion level," Guilmon deduced. "He's at an advantage from the landscape."

"Can you beat him?" I asked worriedly.

"Probably not unless I digivolved," he sighed, looking back to the digimon. "If I was fully rested, I might put up a fight, but…"

"We're both bushed," I finished.

The giant digimon was almost at us – I could hear it's footfalls – and it was about two and a half times bigger than Guilmon. "It doesn't even look like we'll be able to run from it!" Guilmon exclaimed, clearly exasperated now. "This doesn't look good."

Then the Rockmon lunged into the air, his giant hands lifted high above his head to attack. "MOVE!" I cried, pushing Guilmon to the side. I rolled the opposite way as the Rockmon landed between us, crushing the rocks we were on into mere pebbles. It got up, shook itself off in seconds, then looked to Guilmon. I went white in fear as he raised his hands up again to attack, then screamed out to my digimon partner.

"Pyro sphere!" I heard him cry as a blast of red energy exploded in the Rockmon's face, temporarily blinding him.

I rushed around the flailing body of the enemy and grabbed Guilmon's hand, urging him forwards. "Come on!" I shouted, pulling at his arm.

He seemed immobilised for some unseen reason, and I promptly grabbed him and swung him onto my back. The Rockmon roared, realising that we were getting away, and he lunged forwards at us. I whipped around to see this mammoth of a digimon falling from the sky at us.

Then, as if by some strange reflex, my hand darted to my waist where I kept my digivice, wrapped around it, and directed it at the Rockmon.

A blast of light illuminated the area, dazing me, and when I focused again, the Rockmon was gone.

I slumped back to the ground, Guilmon coming off as I did so. _"Can it be used offensively too?" _I wondered, putting it back to my waist. "Are you alright?" I asked him.

He nodded, no words forthcoming just yet. He looked around for the Rockmon, but then he seemed to snap back into reality. "Did you just…"

I lifted the digivice up from my waist once more, handing it to him for inspection.

"I'm not too sure," I replied. "I don't even know why I used it, it was just… instinct I guess. And then, well, you saw it."

He sniffed it with uncertainty. "It's just a digivice," he said with a sigh. "It's a small bit of metal and electricity, isn't it? How can such a small thing do something that living creatures can't?"

I shook my head in mystery. "I haven't the slightest clue," I answered, taking it back and returning it to my waist. "But I don't think that we should ever rely on it to get us out of one of those situations."

"That's probably the best idea," he agreed shakily. "Something so small might not be able to do it again."

With that we picked ourselves back up and breathed deeply for a bit, trying to get rid of some pent up stress. Once we were ready, we continued towards the mountain. There was next to no light left, but neither of us had the intention to sleep in this eerie place just yet, at least certainly not during the night.

After a couple more hours, the moon was high in the sky and we were both sufficiently beat. Our feet were dragging behind us and our arms were lagging at our sides. Yawns seemed to come every minute or so, and I was starting to get extremely fatigued both physically _and_ mentally.

Still, we pressed on, the hard, rock ground being unbelievably hard on our feet. If I had been wearing shoes my arches surely would've collapsed by now. Guilmon, fortunately, was used to a lifetime of bare feet, and the rock was just naturally bad for a person's feet. After another couple hours, we just couldn't go on. The only good thing is that the ground was just starting to slope upwards to the mountain we were aiming for.

When we passed a set of tall rocks, Guilmon couldn't take anymore. He simply collapsed to his knees, his head pressing against the rock for support.

I sighed in fatigue, dropping to the ground next to him. In one motion I was leaning against the rock and patting Guilmon on the back. "Hey," I said quietly. "You sleep, I'll keep watch."

He shook his head, his fatigue evidently worse than my own. "I can't," he said. "You need your sleep…"

A laugh pressed at my lips. He had leaned into my shoulder, falling asleep as he spoke. Rubbing his back gently, I positioned him into a more comfortable position, holding him around his torso so he leaned against my chest from an angle. He was like a giant plush toy, just a little heavier.

He sighed deeply from his chest, reaching a deeper sleep in minutes, and I rested my head upon his, awaiting the long night ahead of me.

Many long and exhausting hours later, the stars began to fade, the moon began to sink, and the sky began to lighten. I was barely conscious, and sleep was pulling at my eyelids and my brain with every ounce of its strength. I started lightly as Guilmon moved a bit in his sleep, and then before I knew it, I was on my way to sleep, knowing that the sun would offer some protection for us.

"Ian-mon," Guilmon whispered, pushing lightly at my shoulder.

My eyes fluttered open to find a very apprehensive Guilmon waiting for me to wake up. The sun was high in the sky, although I knew it couldn't be much past breakfast. "Morning?" I asked tentatively.

He nodded with a smile. "It's still mid-morning," he replied. "When did you fall asleep?"

I looked up to the sky, as if it would help me tell time. "I passed out a bit after the moon set…" I replied. "Maybe a few hours ago?"

He nodded again, his smile increasing. "Oh good," he said.

"You're sure chipper this morning," I said, an inescapable grin appearing on my face too.

There was a slight hesitation in his reply. "I – I just want to be happy today, so that you can be happy too!"

I knew Guilmon well enough to know that something was up, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to pry into this one. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the better of me. "What is it, Guilmon?"

His smile faltered for a moment, and then he hugged me tightly. "I just don't want today to be the last day!" he almost shouted. He was still pretending to be happy, but his voice was giving himself away.

I returned the hug, hauling the two of us to our feet. "It's okay," I cooed, rubbing the back of his head. "You know it'll go well. Friends like us –" I parted our hug so I could look directly into his eyes, "- friends like us can never be separated long. Just look at what we've been through! I travelled halfway across the world to get back to you, so I don't think that something this small will do it either. Do you understand me?"

Tears were welling up in his eyes, but he nodded and wiped them away. "Thank-you, Ian-mon," he said shakily. "I just want you to be safe, that's all."

I hugged him once more, a smile coming to my face again. "Thank-you," I said gently, "I know that you're worried and I'll do everything I can to stay safe. Now, we're not getting any younger…" I looked up to the mountain towering above us. "Let's go."

He nodded, then the two of us started forwards.

It had only been a minute of walking before trouble started to arise. All of a sudden, Guilmon was thrown back a few feet to the ground by some unseen force. I shouted in alarm, dashing to him, but he was already getting up from the fall.

"What was that?" I cried.

Shaking his head, he righted himself and put his nose forwards in the air. "There's a barrier," he said with surprise. "I can't go on any further with you."

I took a step back in shock. "What?"

"Don't you remember Lynxmon saying that digimon cannot enter the mountain?" he asked, dragging forth some of my own memories.

"But I don't want to go alone!" I pined, stepping back beside him. "Then we'll both be alone!"

Guilmon smiled, wagging his index claw before my face. "This is what I've been worrying about, Ian-mon," he said knowingly, in an I-told-you-so voice. "Do I need to repeat what you've already said?"

With a deep sigh, I shook my head. "No," I said, giving in to a losing battle before it started. I hung my head in disappointment, looking down at our feet.

Guilmon put his arm around my shoulders, trying to cheer me up with a grin. "Don't worry, have faith," he said. "You'll be fine. Besides, the faster this is done, the sooner we can get the heck out of this creepy place. Now go." He pushed me forwards a few steps.

I looked back at him to find him forcing a smile out, trying to make me feel better. "I'll be fast," I said, turning my back to him and starting up the mountain with determination.

Guilmon seemed to disappear from sight far too quickly as I had made my way up the mountain. I had been going for a couple hours now, quite thirsty, and extremely hungry since we hadn't eaten since before going down the staircase. I ignored these feelings, however, because the one of loneliness was far stronger than both of them combined.

The mountain had become extremely steep in a very short while, and I was soon using my arms for extra support.

"_I haven't travelled alone since… since the Trainmon. This is just terrible! I don't know what to expect here, and I don't know if I'll be able to handle it on my own! I wish Guilmon was still here…" _I was forcing each step forward, for with each one I had an even stronger urge to turn back and go to Guilmon. I knew, however, that he would not be happy with me if I did that, so I just kept pushing forwards.

Whenever I looked back, I would just see the ground dwindling away beneath me, and I quickly refrained from doing so.

To my surprise, the ground suddenly levelled out into a very thin path that slanted steeply up the mountain. My eyebrows raised in suspicion, but I couldn't think of a better choice, so I followed it.

Some several minutes later, the path became flat, and in the distance I could see that it ended abruptly. I didn't know what to think of it, but I decided to continue on anyway.

The end, to my great delight, was simply the end of the mountainside. At the end of the pathway was a huge cave, probably seven feet tall, and six feet wide, and it seemed to go on to the heart of the mountain.

I gulped in fear now, looking back down the mountain in hopes of seeing a little red speck in the distance, but when I didn't see any, I wiped my brow and plodded on into the mountain.

It wasn't too long until the cave started to show rough and jagged walls. My footsteps echoed loudly off the walls reminding me that I was truly alone. It had begun to be extremely tedious, and I had no idea as to where I would end up, or how I would know where to stop if I was supposed to.

"Where are you going?" a familiar voice asked in a hiss. I jumped in surprise at the sudden noise, then shuddered at it. The voice was unbelievably unpleasant, but only because I recognised it. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Of course I am," I replied calmly, not letting my fear show. "Nobody wants you here anyway." _"This has never happened! When was he able to talk to me like this? I can't show any fear."_

"I think that you do," he continued. "I can see that you're far too unsure of what will happen if you do this. You'll never have the gall to do this. You're weak. That's why you need me. Your body will be too unstable without me and you're going to have the same fate as I if you try it."

"I barely know what's coming anyway! I only know about it from that book! But if we're both to die, then it's worth it if it means you'll die too," I said vehemently. "My life is nothing in comparison to the damage you could cause. I would rather die than let you do anything to harm Guilmon or anyone else in this world."

"You're so naïve," he snarled, anger rising in our chest. "Without me you're nothing but a defenceless and pathetic human. You'll be alone."

At this I actually laughed out loud. "You must be mad!" I laughed. "I'm never alone as long as I have Guilmon. He can protect me if I'm so defenceless anyway. You still can't hurt me even emotionally, you worm."

"You're pushing it, you rotten child," he growled. "I still have power. You can't neglect that after what I did on the mountain."

"Well aren't you special?" I said sarcastically.

Silence fell upon us again, and as I walked, the tunnel became gradually hotter. As I walked further, the tunnel got to be sweltering hot to the point that I was sweating from the heat of it. _"This feels like the desert all over again,"_ I thought indignantly. Still, I pressed on.

Suddenly, I rounded a corner and saw them. They were tall pillars and spires of fire, cascading up to the ceiling and then back down to the floor of the cave. It was a miraculous site, for between all the pillars was darkness. The cave had been dim before, but now it was lit up by fire. This blackness within the fire was overcoming, something so awe inspiring that I had to stare for a moment. There was no visible part to the cave after that, but it didn't necessarily mean that that was the end of the cave.

"The Gates of Fire," I whispered in awe. "You see that? No more darkness!"

No voice returned my cockiness.

There I stopped and knelt in a prayer position, but instead of my palms together, I folded my arms in front of me to form a rectangle, my right forearm resting on top of my left forearm. "Take this soul," I wished valiantly. "I give it up freely, in hoping to quell the darkness of the Digital World."

"You don't want to do that," he dared suddenly.

"Or what?" I asked snidely.

He chuckled darkly. "I still have power, as I said before. I can make far more pain than death. You just try it; you know I will."

Out of nowhere, I smiled. The smile turned into a bit of a laugh, then finally into all out laughter. When I stopped, I could feel his resentment it was so strong. "You know what?" I asked indifferently. "I don't care. If getting rid of you even causes me to die, then it's worth it." I looked up to the blazing fires while he tried to argue with me. "TAKE THIS SOUL!" I roared to the fires. "I GIVE IT UP FREELY!"

"YOU FOOL!" he snarled.

"TAKE THIS SOUL!"

The fires roared back at me, blasting forwards and consuming me. It felt like the desert again, but I wasn't afraid anymore. There was a light tingling from all over my body, and I could see the darkness hovering around my body, being torn out by the flames.

"BURN!" he screeched.

Pain – unimaginable pain – seared through my entire being, grating at every organ, every bone and every vein. My blood felt like it was boiling, and my bones felt like they were being scratched at with knives. My skin… my skin felt as if it was being peeled off layer by layer. A scream was wrenched from my lips as the pain started to really seep in. This was worse than death; this was worse than torture. Death would be mercy compared to this.

A smack to the head from nothing and then scratches on my face. These weren't just feelings anymore. These were real. Blood leaked down my face, blotting my vision as my hair was torn at. Then, some invisible force like the one that had cut me, kicked me in the gut, knocking whatever little air that was left in my body out.

The scream was eternity.

The pain was unceasing.

This was my reality: Darkness in its final hour will vanquish Life.

Then came a cooling glow. There was still pain, but it subsided enough for my thoughts to process. I looked down to the light and found that the Crest of Life was glowing again. It started to drive out the darkness, pushing it farther into the fire.

I heard him screaming, and I took delight in it. Not for revelling in his pain, but for what it meant for the world.

"We're saved," I whispered.

And then there was nothing.

The flames were gone, the darkness was gone… all that was left was me in an empty tunnel.

Blood still clotted my vision, my breathing was pained, and everything stung terribly, but it was over.

"Guilmon," I whispered.

I staggered to my feet, wobbling in lack of energy and from the throbbing pain that the fires had left me with. With a backwards glance I saw the fires start to retreat back to the darkness, but before I could watch it for long, a loud rumble filled the cave.

My eyes darted around, looking for the source, but I didn't find any. It seemed to be coming from the mountain itself.

Another rumble.

"_What's happening? Is the mountain caving in?"_ I remembered instantly what the Drimogemon had said about the stability of the mountains, and I started to get scared.

As fast as I could, my legs dragging far too far behind where they should've been, I started back out the cave.

Rumbles followed me as the jagged rocks around me started to smooth out and natural light started to filter into the cave. Each step I took sent jolts of pain up my legs, through my arms, across my back, and all the way up to my face. At least I wasn't bleeding as much anymore. I could feel the dried blood on my face crack as I squinted to adjust my eyes to the light that was starting to come in.

A rock shifted above me, and dust crumbled in and onto my face, stinging my open cuts. I looked back up as I passed through the cloud, a yelp of fear tearing from my mouth as a large rock dropped from the ceiling and crashed to the floor, shattering. Sharp shards of rock jumped out at me, but I pushed more energy out to move faster, avoiding the nature-crafted daggers.

I rounded one last turn to see the blinding exit to the cave. Another rumble shook the entire cave, throwing me to the ground just before the exit. I rolled over to my back to see a great set of rocks come crashing down above me. Once more I cried out, but the rocks landed on either side of me, both too big to crash.

Scrambling back to my feet once more, I dashed out the cave.

As carefully as I could, I moved down the pathway, the mountain now groaning in effort from what was happening to it. I looked back to the exit as a puff of dust blasted out it, rocks tumbling out shortly afterwards. This caused the end of the path to crumble under the weight of it all, crashing down the mountain.

One more earth-shattering roar of rocks caught my attention, sending my eyes up the mountain.

My mouth opened in shock.

The top of the mountain was caving in, starting an avalanche of solid rock.

One of the earlier rocks crashed down a few feet in front of my path, cutting me off, and then another one behind me, trapping me on a somewhat thin, seven foot long hunk of rock.

"_Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break, please don't break!"_

The rock sighed and let loose from the mountain, tilting me forwards about fifty degrees and sliding down the mountain. I stumbled backwards, landing on my butt, as terror filled me.

Somehow I was surviving; the rock was acting like a snowboard sort of, because of it's awkward shape, and was sliding down the mountain without flipping. Air rushed by me, my hair blasting back in the gust, as the distance between the bottom of the mountain and the rock I was sitting on dropped at a painfully fast rate.

The rocks above were catching up, but were nonetheless far away, about thirty seconds of tumbling away from me with a few smaller rocks far off to either of my sides. The mountain itself was caving it, the peak no longer as sharp as it had been, and it was getting shorter fast.

Looking forwards again, I saw a small red pinprick at the bottom of the mountain directly beneath my path, and my heart leapt as I realised it was Guilmon.

Then the impending doom started to sink in.

"_We're just below a cataclysmic avalanche that will crush us like pancakes in one blow! How can we possibly survive this?"_ I shook that thought away, because it didn't matter. Even if we didn't make it out alive, I would make it back to Guilmon in time. That would be all that I needed, because I sure as heck wasn't going to die like I was now.

I gasped, my heart leaping into my throat, as I saw the bump a few metres ahead of me. A scream tore from my mouth as a second passed and the rock flipped forwards, flinging me much faster than I had been going previously down the mountain.

Gravity took it's course as I remembered what had become of me last time I was flying through the air, and I braced for the impact with the ground that was flying past below me.

In the course of a half-second, my shoulder connected with the rock sending a wave of pain through it. A loud popping sound emitted from it and I guessed that it had dislocated, but then my shirt tore open at it and my skin was rubbed raw, flipping me head-over-heels, my opposite knee crashing with a loud crack into the rock as I was thrown into the air again.

Screams and moans came from my mouth as more tears ran down my already bloodied face, but through them I saw Guilmon.

I had reached the bottom of the mountain!

He spread out his arms below me, bracing for the impact, and I collided at what felt like seventy kilometres an hour into him. He skidded back a few feet, his arms instantly wrapping around me to keep me from going anywhere else. Still, the force knocked the two of us to the ground, and I watched as Guilmon's face filled with relief, then instant terror as the shadow of the boulder I had ridden down loomed over us.

I looked up and heard a cracking sound and the boulder soared right over us, crashing into the ground a few metres away. More rocks, smaller ones, slammed into the ground, shattering, and warning us that the big ones were coming in less than a minute.

I looked back to Guilmon's face, a smile spreading across both his and mine.

"Guilmon!" I cried, hugging him tightly.

Then my shoulder screamed in pain, remembering that it was dislocated. I winced in pain, not letting myself scream, but tears still forced their way out of my eyes. Guilmon looked worried, but I quickly grabbed it with my good hand and pushed it back into its socket, wrenching out a good scream from me this time.

"You're hurt!" he said sadly, his hand tracing over the cuts on my face.

"But it doesn't matter," I said in a rush.

Time was running out.

"But-" Guilmon started.

I shook my head, the rocks above getting louder with every second. "Guilmon, you're my best friend in the entire world. If I have to die, I'm glad that you're going to be here with me."

He nodded in response, his feelings the same. We'd been over it many times before, but this time held _much_ more meaning to it. "You're my best friend too, Ian-mon," he said, reaching his arms back up around me for one more hug.

The rocks were almost at us now.

I put my head over his shoulder, and he mine, and right before we were to be crushed, three words slipped from our mouths in unison.

"I love you."


	22. Chapter 22

**Digiworld Adventure**

Part Twenty-Two

Golden light exploded from between the two of us, and rocks crashed all around and over us, piling up several metres thick in seconds. None of them touched us though; we were left with about three feet above us and one foot around us from every angle. We were both screaming and the light got brighter and brighter as more rocks fell above us. Darkness enshrouded the two of us, but the gold was light a plenty for us.

My mind started to get hazy, and as the rocks got louder, our screams got quieter. Everything started to get quieter and I started to tingle all over my body. The gold started to turn to white and I started to sink into the inky whiteness, losing body and mind…

_I was in the white void again, but this time it was completely empty. _

_There was no sign of him… no sign of anything._

_A deep feeling of emptiness started to sink in. It wasn't my stomach, or my mind, or anything that I was comfortable feeling, bit after a bit of thought, I found that it was from my heart._

_"Guilmon?" I whispered in fear._

_The red lizard digimon materialised in front of me._

_Instantly the feeling of emptiness was gone, but it felt different this time. Better… happier… I didn't have a huge ball of dread sagging down in what seemed to be my very soul. Instead, I was free to be content. Free to be completely comfortable with where I was with no doubts of indecision left in my being. _

_"Are you ready to sleep easy now?" Guilmon asked, tears welling up in his eyes._

_I nodded, wiping at my own eyes to keep them from watering too much. _

_We both smiled, then embraced each other._

_In a flash, colour started to appear around us. _

_Green grass, blue sky, white and greyish clouds, yellow sunlight – warmth – it was all just like the perfect dream. It was no longer darkness, and yet no longer just plain white as an attempt to scare me. I was _free

_"Thank-you, Guilmon," I whispered to him._

My eyes slowly opened to a bright, white light. It was blinding for a moment, but I was soon staring at a white ceiling made of marble, lying on a bed bigger than the one at Leomon's bar. I felt Guilmon's arm on my side; he was lying down behind me, most of his chest pressed up against my back.

The feeling of intense happiness was still with me, and now another feeling added it. I felt like I was finally in exactly the right spot, like everything was the way it was supposed to be.

I rolled over to face Guilmon; I had never felt so rested since coming to the Digital World. Guilmon's eyes lifted slightly and his amber eyes connected with mine. "Sleep well?" he asked quietly.

I nodded in reply, then started to wonder… "Where are we?" I asked. It was just then that the events that had happened in the mountain and just outside of it came zooming back to me. My knee twinged with pain, and I moved my shoulder around forcing a terribly uncomfortable feeling from it, but it didn't hurt as much.

Guilmon became alarmed at this and he started to get up, his eyes darting to my knee. He had seen me falling the entire way down; he knew what was ailing me. As he saw my knee, he opened his mouth lightly and gasped. "Your knee!" he said in a hush, his hands moving to it, but not touching it.

I lifted my upper torso up to look at it, cringing at the sight of it. It had swelled up a lot and was a dark purple with a green tinge around the edges. There were cuts on it, but they were all cleaned up which confused me.

Both of us started to look around now, and we found ourselves in a room made of marble, three walls and a balcony that overlooked a wide valley with lush vegetation everywhere. The mountains were much shorter than the ones I was used to seeing, and the sun was just on the tip of the tallest one in sight, the golden skies telling us that it was late in the day. The opposite wall (they were all made of white marble like the ceiling) had a set of mahogany doors polished to a beautiful rose red that I had never seen in wood before. They were sturdy looking French doors with simple iron hinges and bolts on it. Everything else was simply shining, white marble.

"What is this?" I asked quietly. I tried to get up a bit, but the pain from my knee was too much.

Guilmon pushed me back down to the bed before I could try again and he said sternly, "you shouldn't be getting up on that knee! You know that better than I do!"

Just then the doors creaked open a few feet, catching our attention, and in strolled the most unlikely of people.

"Gennai!" Guilmon and I both exclaimed.

He was in his usual garb, looking exactly as he did before when we met him in the Temple of Life in the middle of the desert. "Well hello there," he said kindly. "I see you've finally awoken."

I felt awkward looking up from my back, since Guilmon wouldn't let me try to get up again. "How long have we been out?" Guilmon asked him.

"Four days," Gennai replied with a little laugh. "I was able to clean your cuts, Ian, but I didn't want to disturb you by bandaging them. You have a pinched ligament in your shoulder and a fractured kneecap."

"Well," I said gently, trying not to get annoyed, "do you have any bandages so we can wrap them now?"

He shook his head. "No need," he said carelessly.

Another twinge of annoyance went through me. "Why not?" I asked, trying to keep my anger down. Guilmon started to look confused too.

"You've already got bandages on," he said simply. "In fact, you've got full hospital attention. You're quite lucky, I must say."

Now I was freely angry. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "Are you delusional? There's no such thing here!"

He only seemed to smile more at this. "You're time in the Digital World is almost up," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Your body in the real world is under intensive care from all these mishaps you've been having here."

"Stop!" I shouted, anger seething through me. Guilmon looked a bit taken aback at the statements Gennai had made. "I am here, in the Digital World!" I said forcefully. "I had to go through A LOT to make sure that that's what it was. I've been back to my old world to figure this out, and I made the decision that I wasn't going back! Why are you saying this to me?"

Guilmon tried to say something too, but he was at a loss for words.

"I'm sure this is very confusing for you," he said, "so I will try to explain. Every digidestined child that has ever come to the Digital World has stayed for their era before going back home, where they belong. Once a digidestined has fulfilled their duties, they must return back to their world, the human world, or else the balance between our two worlds will be disrupted. While you are here, our world is in turmoil that disrupts the balance, but once it is fixed, the remaining glitches, the ability for human children to become data to enter this world, needs to be rectified. It's the only way for things to go back to the way they should."

"But that doesn't explain why you say he's already receiving care," Guilmon pointed out.

"I'm still getting to that," Gennai said. "Usually, when there is a shift of balance between our worlds, the human world slows to a near halt while the Digital World lives in anguish at thousandfold the time in comparison. This hasn't been quite the case this time around. It's slowed, but not as much as usual. This is why you have been receiving care. When you come to this world, you still have an entity left back in your home world. You coexist in both these worlds. When your time is up, your digital you returns to your real body, which is why your world is often called the 'real world.' "

"But I don't want to go home!" I shouted, my hand wrapping around Guilmon's. "This is my world now!"

He shook his head. "I'm sure you may feel that way now, but when you get home, you'll see that it's all for the best."

I looked to Guilmon, and he to me, and we seemed to reach the same conclusion. "No," I said again. "This is the best for us. For me to be with Guilmon, and for Guilmon to be with me. You can't separate our friendship!"

"It's not my decision to make," Gennai said with a shrug. "The powers of the Digital World will take you back whether it's your wish or not. I'm sorry."

Guilmon shook his head in denial. "No!" he shouted, taking my hand. "You're not helping us at all!" He hopped quickly off the bed and pulled me onto his back. I ignored the pain, my fury blocking it out. Without a second thought he pushed roughly past Gennai and dashed out the door.

We found ourselves in near darkness outside the building. Guilmon was going as fast as he could with me on his back and I was holding on like our lives depended on it. "I don't want to be alone again," Guilmon said sadly, tears running from his eyes. "Everything's been so right since you got here!"

I squeezed him gently, my feelings just the same. "I can't go back!" I moaned in sadness. "Not now, not when we've just finished the quest! I'm finally free of the darkness and now we have to be torn apart? It can't happen!" I pressed the side of my head to his neck, trying to quell my emotions. "It just can't!"

"I won't let you go," Guilmon said firmly, his pace slowing down in fatigue. "No matter what happens, I just won't let you go! We've come through too much to let that happen."

I looked up at the full moon above us. It was twinkling oddly, but I didn't make note of it.

Finally, Guilmon stopped and slid me carefully to the ground. My shoulder was feeling quite bad, and the small red spots of my shirt told me that some of the wound had cracked a bit. My knee was just throbbing, but I was starting to learn to ignore pain now.

Guilmon lay down next to me, quite confident that we had distanced ourselves enough from the small building of marble. "I've never been this scared before," he said slowly.

I nodded carefully, taking his hand in mine once more for reassurance. "Neither have I," I agreed. The cuts I had received from the mountain had mostly healed up, but some of them would leave scars. "I don't want to lose you!" I moaned again, rolling over so I was leaning gently on him.

We hugged each other, not letting go now. That's when Guilmon whispered, "there's something wrong with the moon…"

I looked back up to it, a long and shining ribbon of light extending from it towards us. It was still a ways off, but it was a considerable length considering that we were so far from it.

"That couldn't be…" I started.

Guilmon yelped in fright, jumping to his feet with me in his arms. "No!" he shouted in fright, starting running again.

He ran right into the bushes, thorns and brambles cutting at us, but he ignored them and kept running on blindly away from the moonlight. "I won't let it take you!" he cried, his foot falls quite loud in the night. After a few minutes of running we came to a clearing with a fallen down tree in it. He dashed to the end of it, finding it hollow, and he and I went right into it. It was quite small, but we fit in it well enough to hide from the trail the moon was shining at us. He was panting out of breath, still holding onto me in his arms.

I hugged him again, tears running from my eyes once more, and squeezed hard. I would not let go of him.

He wrapped his arms around me too, squeezing just as hard, as tears ran from his eyes too. "I can't let go!" he sobbed, pressing his head onto my back. "I just can't! This can't be the end of it!"

I shook my head, pressing it hard onto his back. "It won't be!" I cried. "I won't leave you, I promise!" My fingers were trembling and my knee was screaming in pain once again, but I didn't care. I wouldn't lose my best friend like this.

For a moment everything was quiet, but then the opposite end of the tree started glowing as the sparkling trail of light came zooming in.

We both screamed in fright, Guilmon scrambling to get us out, but in seconds the light was upon us, and I got a strange tingling feeling all over my body again. "NO!" I screamed, squeezing him so hard that I felt my nails start to scratch his back.

"NO!" Guilmon screamed, his claws piercing my shirt and then cutting a bit into my sides.

Everything started to fade away, but I still clung to Guilmon. I was just crying loudly now like a baby, but I didn't care. This just couldn't be the end of our friendship!

"I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!" I screamed, a desperate attempt to make the light disappear. "GUILMON! I LOVE YOU!"

As the light exploded with brightness, I felt my arms slide through nothing as Guilmon and the rest of the Digital World disappeared before my eyes.

"NO!"

"GUILMON!" I screamed. My eyes shot open and I blasted out of a stiff, white bed, my entire body exploding in pain.

Hands with white sleeves and gloves pressed me back into the confines of the scratchy white bed and I realised my state. There was a breathing mask on my face which I tore off as soon as I freed it from one of the doctor's hands, but I also noticed the wires that covered me, stuck on with electrodes and suction cups.

"GUILMON!" I screamed again becoming far more fierce with my attacks. My shoulder screamed, my knee was dying; I felt burns all over my body. My spine, my face, my ankle – it was as if all the wounds I had received in the Digital World were coming to attack me at once, but I had changed. I wasn't letting these feeble attacks from my own body hurt me. Scabs on my face, shoulder and knee cracked and I soon felt hot blood rushing down my skin turning the hands around me red. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelped, biting hard down on a hand that ventured to close to my face.

There was a slight prick in the bottom of my arm and the room became extremely blurry as all energy left me.

"_Morphine…" _I thought in disgust as I sunk back down into the bed.

The clashing of medical instruments falling quickly died and I heard the heart monitor beeping at a ferocious rate near my head. White blurs danced around me eyes as I felt my air mask returning to my face and several of the wires to my arms, legs, chest and neck. I was only wearing a pair of thin white boxers and I quickly became embarrassed at how I must look to these freaks.

The lonely feeling I had felt in the white void was back, and that didn't surprise me in the least. Guilmon had been torn viciously away from me just after everything seemed to be so right in the world. Now I was left in a cruel and human world where I couldn't even escape from my own bed.

"Guilmon…" I cried, tears coming to my eyes once more.

Hours passed and everything was a complete blur. I felt nothing but a fuzzy feeling from everywhere. Finally, after I seemed to have had lost complete perception on everything that reality was claiming to be, the world started to level out.

Bandages covered my cuts and scrapes, and I felt a cast on my knee and on my ankle. I was uncomfortably hot in the room, and I heard voices floating around me.

"He'll be good to return to normal life within a week," some unknown voice said. "Once a patient has come out of a coma, things usually rectify themselves in no time at all."

"Well I know he'll want that," another voice said. Anger seethed through me when I realised it was my mother. "He won't want all the attention, and I'm sure he'll want to see his friends again."

"If that's the case, he could probably go home tonight after a few more tests," the first voice continued. "He'll need crutches to move around, and he should have oxygen with him at all times, but other than that he'll be mostly healed before week's end."

"Wonderful!" my mother said.

I couldn't stand any more of this. My hand darted to my face, tearing off the breathing mask, then both hands tearing off the electrodes. They all came off with a twinge and a pop, and I heard two chairs push back as I stood up.

"Ian!" my mother said, rushing to embrace me.

As she spread out her arms, I held me arms up, pushing her away from me with disgust. "Don't touch me," I snarled, the empty feeling inside of me wallowing up in sorrow. "You didn't hug me before, why on earth do you think I'd want you to start now?"

Her face went pale as something resembling anger and shock crossed her. She took a single step back, then left the room.

My eyes swung over to the doctor who still had most of his gear on. He seemed in an awkward position, but he cleared his throat and started to speak. "I, er, need to run some preliminary tests on you-"

I cut him off there. "You'll do no such thing," I growled, moving to the edge of the bed. "Get me some crutches, now."

"You are not supposed to be walking, Mr. Soutar," he said, moving to put me back in the bed.

"Back off!" I barked, my eyes searching the small room for anything. Behind the door was a pair of crutches, and I slid off the bed onto my good leg, limping over to them. I gritted my teeth, wincing as my opposite foot touched the ground, but I had long since built up a strong threshold for pain.

I picked them up, sticking them under my arms, and looked back to the doctor. "Thank-you and the rest of the doctors here for my care, but I don't want a thing to do with you." I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, leaving the doctor there with a wide-open mouth and in a confused stupor.

Outside I found both my parents looking attentively at me, but I looked past them to a set of elevators and hobbled right past them as if they were made of stone. I reached the elevators, but before I could touch the button, I heard my father say, "Ian, that's extremely rude of you!"

I whipped my head around, anger blazing in my eyes. "Do I look like I care?" I asked dangerously. I pressed the button and entered the elevator, the door closing out their shocked faces as I became enclosed in the small, metal room.

The second their faces disappeared, I collapsed to the floor in a heap, my face in my hands as tears ran freely from them.

I sat in a chair in the hospital lobby, listening to the doctor who was droning on to my parents. Although I was doing the best to be invisible, I couldn't help but scoff at the doctor's weird statements.

"This kind of behaviour is not uncommon to people who have awoken from comas," he said gently, as if reassuring them that I wasn't crazy. "It's entirely possible that he might have had frightful nightmares that could alter the way he thinks, but it should pass after some time. Give it two months and he should be back to his regular self and-" I bent in to listen as he lowered his voice. "- I wouldn't confront him about speaking in tongues until he's returned to normal."

My parents nodded in acknowledgement at this, turning their gazes back to me. I stared back at them defiantly, no longer bothered by direct eye contact from anyone. They quickly looked away, and I smiled a bit in victory.

Shortly after, I was sitting in the back of my mom's station wagon, my crutches in the trunk and my arms crossed firmly across my chest. I was still wearing hospital clothes and I felt very uncomfortable in them, but at least they weren't just boxers.

Every few moments I felt my parents' eyes dart to the rear-view mirror to look at me, but they quickly looked away when they saw my fierce glare returning.

We were in Vancouver, which I guess was logical for the Vancouver hospital, and we were quickly approaching the Port Mann Bridge. My eyes lit up as I saw the traffic backed up going the opposite direction and the flagging tape that blocked off one land of traffic brought back chilling memories from when Birdramon crashed into it.

I guess my parents noticed my interest and they took the opportunity to talk to me. "Is there anything you want to talk ab-" my dad started.

"No," I cut in before he could finish, still gazing intently at the 'accident.' There were people out there working on it, and I smiled as any doubt of the Digital World being part of my coma vanished.

He raised his eyebrows in faint shock before slowly returning his eyes to the road. "Okay…" he said slowly, as if a joke.

I searched in vain for any sign of a portal back to the Digital World in the water, but there wasn't any sign of one. I slumped back into my spot in extreme disappointment at not finding one and proceeded to ignore life around me.

"_Oh Guilmon," _I though in utter despair. _"How will I find my way back without you to guide me there? How will we ever be together again now?"_ I sunk even lower into my sorrow as I realised something else. _"I broke my promise to Guilmon!"_

A tear escaped from my eye and I made no attempt to hide it. I felt eyes looking at me again, but no words were forthcoming.

I walked into my house, my crutches firmly beneath my armpits, and ignored my parents rushing to help me. "I don't know why you're doing this now," I snapped, brushing their hands aside as I pushed the door open. Not even bothering to take off my shoes, I marched right through the mud room and headed on upstairs. I was a bit surprised to see my brothers both in the kitchen, but I still brushed right past them without saying a word, pretending like I didn't see them staring at me.

The stairs to my room were a bit of a challenge, and I heard people coming to help, but I just went at my own frustratingly slow pace until I got to the top. I was tired, but I wasn't going to show it. Without even a second's break, I marched right to my room, locked the door and collapsed onto my bed, the crutches falling to the floor with a crash.

Then, slowly to avoid too much pain, I curled up into a ball and started sobbing.


End file.
